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MEMOIRS  OF 
THE  CROWN  PRINCE  OF  GERMANY 


MEMOIRS 

OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

OF  GERMANY 


ILLUSTRATED    WITH    PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1922 


■^"f^ 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
THE  MUNDUS  PUBLISHING   CO.,  Ltd.,  AMSTERDAM 

german  edition 
Copyright,  1922,  by 

J.  G.  COTTA,  STUTTGART-BERLIN 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Published  May,  1922 


MAV  1 5  1922 
0)G!,A661656 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Impulsus  Scribendi I 

CHAPTER  I 

Childhood  Days 3 

Boys  will  be  Boys 3 

My  Father's  Nature 18 

Princes,  Sovereigns  and  Sayings 27 

CHAPTER  H 

Soldier,  Sportsman  and  Student 35 

The  Value  of  Prussian  Drill 35 

The  Queen 41 

Student  Life 44 

In  Command  of  the  Foot-Guards      ....  51 

CHAPTER  III 

Matrimonial  and  Post-Matrimonial  ....  60 

Freely  Chosen  Freely  Given 60 

Recollections  of  Russia 65 

Statecraft  Studies  in  Germany  and  England      .  70 

The  Row  in  the  Reichstag 96 

How  the  Kaiser  Worked 104 

Our  pre-War  Policy 108 

Travel  Impressions 118 

CHAPTER  IV 

Stress  and  Storm 126 

The  Cloud  on  the  Horizon 128 

The  Cloud  Bursts 135 

Our  Military  and  Civil  Leaders 157 

My  Memorials 163 

Hindenburg  and  Ludendorff         184 

V 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  V 


PAGE 


Progress  of  the  War 197 

Battle  of  the  Mame 198 

Verdiin 210 

Princes  and  Politicians  at  the  Front       .     .     .  223 

CHAPTER  VI 

The  Great  Collapse 237 

Foreseeing  the  End 237 

Mistaken  Proceedings 248 

Wilson  and  Foch 266 

The  Wrong  Man 274 

CHAPTER  VII 

Scenes  at  Spa 280 

Schulenburg :  Groner 285 

The  Forged  Abdication 300 

The  Council  of  Officers 308 

The  Kaiser's  Ejection 320 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Exiled  to  Holland 328 

Waiting  for  Berlin 329 

Accepting  the  Inevitable 336 

What  was  Done  in  My  Absence        .      .      .      .  339 

Farewell  to  My  Troops 344 

The  Decisive  Step 348 

Wieringen 354 

My  Message 362 


Index 367 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Crown  Prince Frontispiece 

FACTNG  PAGE 

The  Crown  Prince  and  Crown  Princess  with 
Their  Children  and  with  the  Mayor  of 

WiERINGEN   AND   HiS   WiFE 62 

The   Crown   Prince   and   Crown   Princess   at 

WiERINGEN 282 

The  Crown  Prince's  Residence  in  Wieringen  .    354 


IMPULSUS  SCRIBENDI 

March,  1919. 

It  is  evening.  I  have  been  wandering  once  more 
along  the  deserted  and  silent  ways  between  the 
wind-swept  and  sodden  meadows,  through  grayness 
and  shadow. 

No  human  sound  or  sign.  Only  this  sea  wind 
grabbing  at  me  and  driving  its  fingers  through  my 
clothing.  A  March  wind !  Spring  is  near  at  hand. 
I  have  been  here  four  months. 

In  the  vast  expanse  above  me  sparkle  the  eternal 
stars,  the  same  that  look  down  upon  Germany. 
From  the  horizon  of  the  Zuyder  Zee,  the  lighthouses 
of  The  Oever  and  of  Texel  fling  their  beams  into  the 
deepening  night. 

On  my  return  I  find  my  companion  waiting 
anxiously  at  the  little  wicket-gate  of  the  garden. 
Had  I  been  gone  such  a  long  time? 

I  am  now  sitting  in  this  small  room  of  the  par- 
sonage. The  paraffin  lamp  is  lighted;  it  smokes  and 
smells  a  little;  and  the  fire  in  the  grate  bums  rather 
low  and  cheerless. 

Not  a  sound  disturbs  the  silence,  save  this  cease- 
less blowing  of  the  wind  across  the  lonesome  and 
slumbering  island. 

Four  months ! 


2     MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

In  this  seemingly  endless  time — which  I  have 
spent  in  one  unbroken  waiting-for-something,  listen- 
ing-for-something — the  thought  has  recurred  again 
and  again  to  me:  "Perhaps,  if  you  were  to  write  it 
out  of  your  heart?"  This  idea  has  seized  me  again 
to-day;  it  was  my  one  companion  as  I  trudged  the 
silent  roads  this  evening. 

I  will  try  it.  I  will  write  the  pages  which  shall 
recall  and  arrange  the  past,  shall  bring  me  out  of 
this  turmoil  into  calmness  and  serenity.  I  will  re- 
touch the  half-faded  remembrances,  will  give  ac- 
count to  myself  of  my  own  doings,  wishes  and  omis- 
sions, will  fix  the  truth  concerning  many  important 
events  whose  outlines  are  seen  at  present  by  the 
world  in  a  distorted  and  falsified  picture.  I  will  de- 
pict all  events  honestly  and  impartially,  just  as  I 
see  them.  I  will  not  conceal  my  own  errors  nor  in- 
veigh against  the  mistakes  of  others.  I  will  compel 
myself  to  objectivity  and  self-possession  even  where 
recollection's  turgid  wave  of  pain,  anger  and  bit- 
terness breaks  over  me  and  threatens  to  sweep  me 
along  with  it  in  its  recoil.  In  the  distant  days  of 
my  youth  I  will  commence  my  reminiscences. 


CHAPTER  I 

CHILDHOOD   DAYS 

When  I  look  back  upon  my  childhood,  there  rises 
before  me  as  it  were  a  submerged  world  of  radiance 
and  sunshine.  We  all  loved  our  home  in  Potsdam 
and  Berlin  just  as  every  child  does  who  is  cherished 
and  cared  for  by  loving  hands.  So,  too,  the  joys  of 
our  earliest  childhood  were,  for  sure,  the  same  as  the 
joys  of  every  happy  and  alert  German  lad.  Whether 
a  boy's  sword  is  of  wood  or  of  metal,  whether  his 
rocking-horse  is  covered  with  calfskin  or  modestly 
painted — this,  at  bottom,  is  all  one  to  the  child's 
heart;  it  is  the  symbol  of  diminutive  manliness — the 
sword  or  the  horse  itself — that  makes  the  boy  happy. 
We  played  the  same  boyish  tricks  as  every  other 
German  boy, — except,  perhaps,  that  we  spoiled  bet- 
ter carpets  and  dearer  furniture.  Whenever  and 
with  whomsoever  I  have  talked  of  those  childhood 
years,  I  have  found  full  confirmation  of  the  truth 
that — be  he  child  of  King  or  child  of  peasant,  son  of 
the  better  class  or  son  of  the  workman — every  lad's 
fancy  has  a  stage  of  development  in  which  it  seeks 
the  same  bold  adventures  and  makes  the  same  won- 
derful discoveries,  undertakes  expeditions  into  roomy 
and  mysterious  lofts  or  dank  cellars;  there  are  hap- 


4     MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

penings  with  suddenly  opened  hydrants  which  refuse 
to  close  again  when  the  water  gushes  out,  and  secret 
snowball  attacks  upon  highly  respectable  and  punc- 
tiliously correct  state  officials  who,  forgetting  all  at 
once  their  reverend  dignity,  turn  as  red  as  turkey- 
cocks  and  shout:  "Damned  young  rascals!" 

As  far  back  as  I  can  remember,  the  centre  of  our 
existence  has  been  our  dearly  beloved  mother.  She 
has  radiated  a  love  which  has  warmed  and  com- 
forted us.  Whatever  joy  or  sorrow  moved  us, 
she  has  always  had  for  it  understanding  and  sym- 
pathy. All  that  was  best  in  our  childhood,  nay,  all 
the  best  that  home  and  family  can  give,  we  owe  to 
her.  What  she  was  to  us  in  our  early  youth,  that 
she  has  remained  throughout  our  adolescence  and 
our  manhood.  The  kindest  and  best  woman  is  she 
for  whom  living  means  helping,  succoring  and  spend- 
ing herself  in  the  interests  of  others;  and  such  a 
woman  is  our  mother. 

Being  the  eldest  son  I  have  always  been  partic- 
ularly close  to  our  beloved  mother.  I  have  carried 
to  her  all  my  requests,  wishes  and  troubles,  whether 
big  or  little;  and  she,  too,  has  shared  honestly  with 
me  the  hopes  and  fears  couched  in  her  bosom,  the 
fulfilments  and  the  disappointments  which  she  has 
experienced.  In  many  a  difficulty  that  has  arisen 
in  the  course  of  years  between  my  father  and  me  she 
has  mediated  with  a  soothing,  smoothing  and  adjust- 
ing hand.    Not  a  heart's  thought  of  any  moment 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  5 

but  I  have  dared  to  lay  it  before  her;  and  this  loving 
and  trustful  intercourse  continued  throughout  the 
grievous  days  of  the  war;  nor  has  the  relationship 
been  destroyed  by  all  the  trying  circumstances 
which  now  separate  me  from  her.  I  am  particularly 
happy  to  know  that,  in  these  painful  times,  she  is 
still,  in  misfortune,  permitted  to  be  the  trusty  help- 
mate of  my  severely  tried  father  as  she  was  once  in 
prosperity,  and  I  am  grateful  for  the  dispensation 
which  has  rendered  it  possible.  She  has  been  his 
best  friend,  self-sacrificing,  earnest,  pure,  great  in 
her  goodness,  perfect  in  her  fidelity.  As  her  son, 
I  say  with  ardent  pride:  she  is  the  very  pattern  of  a 
German  wife  whose  best  characteristics  are  seen  in 
the  fulfilment  of  her  duties  as  wife  and  mother,  and 
in  her  they  display  themselves  only  the  purer  and 
clearer  now  that  the  pomp  of  Imperial  circumstance 
has  vanished  and  she  stands  forth  in  her  simple 
humanness. 

The  relations  between  us  children  and  our  father 
were  totally  different.  He  was  always  friendly  and, 
in  his  way,  loving  towards  us;  but,  by  the  nature  of 
things,  he  had  none  too  much  time  to  devote  to  us. 
As  a  consequence,  in  reviewing  our  early  childhood, 
I  can  discover  scarcely  a  scene  in  which  he  joins  in 
our  childish  games  with  unconstrained  mirth  or 
happy  abandon.  If  I  try  now  to  explain  it  to  my- 
self, it  seems  to  me  as  though  he  were  unable  so  to 
divest  himself  of  the  dignity  and  superiority  of  the 


6     MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

mature  adult  man  as  to  enable  him  to  be  properly- 
young  with  us  little  fellows.  Hence,  in  his  pres- 
ence we  always  retained  a  certain  embarrassment, 
and  the  occasional  laxity  of  tone  and  expression 
adopted  in  moments  of  good  humor  with  the  mani- 
fest purpose  of  gaining  our  confidence  rather  tended 
to  abash  us.  It  may  have  been,  too,  that  we  felt 
him  so  often  to  be  absent  from  us  in  his  thoughts 
when  present  with  us  in  the  body,  that  rendered 
him  almost  impersonal,  absent-minded,  and  often 
alien  to  our  young  hearts. 

My  sister  is  the  only  one  of  us  who  succeeded  in 
her  childhood  in  gaining  a  snug  place  in  his  heart. 
Moreover,  all  sorts  of  otherwise  unaccustomed  re- 
straints were  experienced  at  his  hands.  When,  for 
instance,  we  entered  his  study — a  thing  which  never 
exactly  pleased  him — we  had  to  hold  our  hands  be- 
hind us  lest  we  might  knock  something  off  one  of 
the  tables.  In  addition  to  all  this,  there  were  the 
reverence  and  the  military  subordination  taught  us 
towards  our  father  from  our  infancy;  and  this  en- 
gendered in  us  a  certain  shyness  and  misgiving. 
This  sense  of  constraint  was  felt  both  by  myself  and 
by  my  brother  Fritz,  though  certainly  neither  of  us 
could  ever  have  been  characterized  as  bashful.  I 
myself  have  only  got  free  of  the  feeling  slowly  and 
with  progressive  development. 

In  recalling  my  father's  study,  I  am  reminded  of 
an  incident  of  my  childhood  which  has  imprinted 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  7 

itself  indelibly  upon  my  memory  because  it  involved 
my  first  and  unintentional  visit  to  Prince  Bismarck. 
It  was  early  in  the  morning.  My  brother  Eitel 
Friedrich  and  I  were  about  to  go  to  Bellevue  for  our 
lessons,  and  I  was  strolling  carelessly  about  in  the 
lower  rooms  of  the  palace.  Accidentally  I  stumbled 
into  a  small  room  in  which  the  old  Prince  sat  por- 
ing over  the  papers  on  his  writing-desk.  To  my 
dismay  he  at  once  turned  his  eyes  full  upon  me. 
My  previous  experience  of  such  matters  led  me  to 
believe  that  I  should  be  promptly  and  pitilessly  ex- 
pelled. Indeed,  I  had  already  started  a  precipitate 
retreat,  when  the  old  Prince  called  me  back.  He 
laid  down  his  pen,  gripped  my  shoulder  with  his 
giant  palm  and  looked  straight  into  my  face  with 
his  penetrating  eyes.  Then  he  nodded  his  head 
several  times  and  said:  "Little  Prince,  I  like  the 
look  of  you,  keep  your  fresh  naturalness."  He  gave 
me  a  kiss  and  I  dashed  out  of  the  room.  I  was  so 
proud  of  the  occurrence  that  I  treated  my  brothers 
for  several  days  as  totally  inferior  beings.  It  was 
incredible !  I  had  blundered  into  a  study  and  had 
not  been  thrown  out — not  even  reprimanded.  And 
it  was  withal  the  study  of  the  old  Prince. 

The  nature  of  our  later  education  tended  to 
estrange  us  from  our  father  more  and  more.  We 
were  soon  intrusted  entirely  to  tutors  and  governors, 
and  it  was  from  them  that  we  heard  whether  His 
Majesty  was  satisfied  with  us  or  the  reverse.    Here, 


8     MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

in  the  family  and  in  our  own  early  youth,  we 
already  began  to  experience  the  **  System  of  the 
Third,"  the  unfortunate  method  whereby,  to  the 
exclusion  of  any  direct  exchange  of  views,  decisions 
were  made  and  issued  by  means  of  third  persons 
who  were  also  the  sole  mouthpieces  by  which  the 
position  of  the  interested  party  could  be  stated  to 
the  judge.  This  principle,  so  attractive  to  a  man 
of  such  a  many-sided  character  and  so  immersed  in 
affairs  as  unquestionably  the  Kaiser  has  always 
been,  took  deeper  and  wider  root  with  the  advance 
of  years,  and  in  cases  in  which  place-seeking,  in- 
gratiating and  irremovable  courtiers  or  politicians 
have  gained  possession  of  average  posts  that  gave 
them  the  position  of  go-between  has  caused  the  ex- 
clusion of  disagreeable  reports  and  the  doubtless 
often  quite  unconscious  distortion  of  news  with 
its  consequent  mischief.  The  ** department"  (Kab- 
inet),  especially  the  Department  of  Civil  Adminis- 
tration was  fundamentally  nothing  but  a  "personal 
board,"  the  head  of  the  department  {chef  de  cabinet) 
was  the  mouthpiece  and  intermediary  of  any  and 
every  voice  that  made  itself  heard  in  this  sphere  of 
activity;  he  was  also  the  bearer  of  the  Imperial  de- 
cision. The  idea  of  such  a  position  presupposes  un- 
qualified and  almost  superhuman  impartiality  and 
justice — doubly  so,  when  the  ruler  (as  in  this  case 
the  inner  circle  was  well  aware)  is  susceptible  to  in- 
fluence and  is  shaken  by  bitter  experiences.    Then 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  9 

the  responsibility  of  these  posts  becomes  as  great 
as  the  power  they  confer,  if  their  occupant  exceeds 
the  clearly  defined  limit  indicated. 

Then,  and  still  more  when  they  tacitly  combine 
their  influences  so  as  to  strengthen  their  position, 
they  and  their  helpers  at  court  become  distorters  of 
the  views  upon  which  the  ruler  must  base  his  final 
and  important  decisions.  It  is  they  who  are  really 
responsible  for  the  wrong  decisions  that  were  made 
in  the  name  of  the  ruler  and  which  possibly  sealed 
his  fate  and  that  of  his  people. 

But  who  would  think  now  of  discussing  the  sins 
committed  against  the  German  people  by  the  heads 
of  many  years'  standing  of  the  Civil  Department  and 
the  head  of  the  Marine  Department  in  their  duo- 
logues over  the  daily  "Vortrage."  Closely  and 
firmly  they  held  the  Kaiser  entangled  in  their  con- 
ceptions of  every  weighty  question.  If,  after  all,  a 
mesh  was  rent,  either  through  his  own  observation  or 
by  the  bold  intervention  of  some  outsider,  their  daily 
function  gave  them  the  next  morning  an  opportunity 
of  repairing  the  damage  and  of  removing  the  im- 
pression left  by  the  interloper.  I  am  aware  that 
none  of  these  men  ever  wittingly  exercised  a  noxious 
influence.  Every  one  considers  his  own  nostrum 
the  only  one  and  the  right  one  to  effect  a  political 
cure. 

Turning  from  those  who  were  the  pillars  of  this 
principle  back  to  the  principle  itself,  I  know  too  that 


10    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

a  chef  de  cabinet  who  would  have  influenced  and 
moulded  the  decisions  of  the  Kaiser  in  quite  another 
way  might  have  proved  a  blessing  to  the  Fatherland 
and  to  us  all,  if  that  chef  had  been  a  firm,  strong  and 
steadfast  personality.  But  unfortimately  destiny 
placed  among  the  Kaiser's  advisers  no  men  of  such  a 
stamp  with  the  single  exception  of  the  clever  and 
resolute  Geheimrat  von  Berg  whose  appointment  to 
the  responsible  post  of  Chief  of  the  Civil  Depart- 
ment took  place  in  the  year  1918 — consequently  too 
late  to  be  of  any  effective  service.  In  general,  the 
notions  of  the  rest  were  characterized  by  dull  half- 
heartedness.  Wherever  they  had  to  suggest  men 
for  the  execution  of  new  tasks,  the  men  whom  they 
proposed  and  recommended  were  only  too  often 
mediocre.  Any  one  who  was  willing  to  go  his  own 
road  with  a  resolute  tread  was  carefully  avoided. 
Hence,  instead  of  a  determined  course,  there  was 
eternal  tacking — instead  of  a  steadfast  and  clear- 
sighted grasp  of  the  consequences  of  such  a  policy, 
there  was  masking  of  the  imminent  dangers  and  a 
deaf  ear  for  the  louder  and  louder  warnings  of 
anxiety  and  alarm,  until  at  last  the  cup  of  fate  which 
they  had  helped  to  fill  flowed  over. 

It  was  in  the  obscurity  of  their  departments  that 
these  "advisers  of  the  crown"  labored,  and  it  is 
into  the  darkness  of  oblivion  that  their  names  will 
disappear.  But  the  taint  of  their  doings  will  cleave 
to  His  Majesty's  memory  where  no  more  guilt  at- 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  11 

taches  to  him  than  just  this:  not  to  have  displayed 
a  better  knowledge  of  character  in  the  choice  of  his 
entourage  and  not  to  have  been  more  resolute  in 
dealing  with  his  advisers  when  the  wisest  heads  and 
the  stoutest  hearts  among  all  classes  in  Germany 
were  but  just  good  enough  for  such  responsible 
positions. 

It  was  a  fundamental  mistake  that  only  the  Im- 
perial Chancellor  made  his  report  in  private.  All 
other  ministers  were  accompanied  by  the  chiefs  of 
their  respective  departments;  for  the  reports  of  the 
Military  and  Naval  Ministers,  indeed,  Adjutant- 
General  von  Plessen  was  also  present.  In  this  way 
the  departments  acquired  a  certain  preponderance 
over  the  minister  or  the  man  who  was  respon- 
sible. 

But  this  theme  has  led  me  far  astray.  I  must  re- 
turn to  the  recollections  of  my  youth.  I  stopped  at 
the  "System  of  the  Third  Party."  In  regard  to  us 
boys,  the  result  was  that  when  we  acquired  military 
rank,  the  Kaiser's  intercourse  with  us  was  generally 
conducted  through  the  head  of  the  Military  Depart- 
ment or  through  General  von  Plessen  and,  indeed, 
that  in  quite  harmless  matters  of  a  purely  personal 
nature,  we  occasionally  received  formal  military  no- 
tices. (Kabinetts-Orders.)  Amicable  and  friendly 
discussion  between  father  and  son  scarcely  ever  took 
place.  It  was  clear  that  the  Kaiser  avoided  any 
personal  controversy  in  which  decisions  might  be 


12    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

necessary;  here,  again,  the  third  party  was  inter- 
posed. For  trivialities  which,  under  other  condi- 
tions, a  few  paternal  words  might  have  settled,  in- 
termediaries and  outsiders  were  employed  and 
thus  made  acquainted  with  the  affair;  in  my  own 
case,  since  nature  has  not  gifted  me  with  a  taste 
for  such  punctilious  formalities,  the  tension  was 
often  increased.  It  is  quite  possible  that  these  gen- 
tlemen, who  were  convinced  of  the  very  profound 
importance  of  their  missions,  were  not  always  re- 
ceived by  me  with  a  seriousness  corresponding  to 
their  own  self-esteem  and  that  they  rewarded  me 
by  taking  the  first  opportunity  to  express  to  His 
Majesty  their  views  on  my  immaturity  and  lack  of 
courtesy  and  dignity.  Most  certainly  these  inter- 
mediaries are  in  no  small  degree  answerable  for  mis- 
understandings, and  for  the  fact  that  small  conflicts 
were  occasionally  intensified  or  caused  all  kinds  of 
prejudices  and  imputations.  Sometimes  I  received 
the  impression  that  these  little  intrigues  assumed 
the  character  of  mischief-making.  Everything  I 
said  or  did  was  busily  reported  to  His  Majesty;  and 
I  was  then  young  and  careless,  and  I  certainly  ut- 
tered many  a  thoughtless  word  and  took  many  a 
thoughtless  step. 

In  such  circumstances  it  was  for  me  almost  an 
emancipation  to  be  ordered  before  the  Kaiser  in 
regimentals  and  to  receive  from  him  in  private  a 
thorough  dressing  down  on  account  of  some  inci- 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  13 

dent  connected  with  a  special  escapade.  It  was 
then  that  we  understood  one  another  best.  More- 
over, one  might  often,  in  such  colloquies,  give  rein 
to  one's  tongue.  An  absolutely  innocent  example 
just  occurs  to  me.  I  had  always  been  an  enthu- 
siastic devotee  of  sport  in  all  its  forms:  hunting, 
racing,  polo,  etc.  But  even  here  there  were  re- 
strictions, considerations  and  inhibitions.  One  felt 
just  like  a  poacher.  Thus  I  was  not  to  take  part 
in  races  or  in  hunting  on  account  of  the  dangers 
involved.  But  it  was  for  that  very  reason  that  I 
liked  this  sport.  Now  I  had  just  ridden  my  first 
public  race  in  the  Berlin-Potsdam  Riding  Club — 
and  was  hoping  that  there  would  be  no  sequel  in 
the  shape  of  a  row,  when  next  morning  the  Kaiser 
ordered  me  to  appear  before  him  at  the  New  Palace 
in  regimentals.     There  was  thunder  in  the  air. 

"You've  been  racing." 

"Zu  befehl." 

"You  know  that  it  is  forbidden.'* 

"Zu  befehl." 

"Why  did  you  do  it,  then?" 

"Because  I  am  passionately  fond  of  it  and  be- 
cause I  think  it  a  good  thing  for  the  Crown  Prince 
to  show  his  comrades  that  he  does  not  fear  danger 
and  thereby  sets  them  a  good  example." 

A  moment's  consideration,  and  then  suddenly 
His  Majesty  looks  up  at  me  and  asks: 

"Well,  anyway,  did  you  win?" 


14    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

"Unfortunately  Graf  Koenigsmarck  beat  me  by 
a  short  head." 

The  Kaiser  thumped  the  table  irritably:  "That's 
very  annoying.  Now  be  off  with  you."  This  time 
my  father  had  understood  me  and  had  appreciated 
the  sportsman  in  me. 

The  older  I  grew,  the  oftener  did  it  happen  that 
serious  men  of  the  most  varied  classes  applied  to 
me  to  lay  before  the  Kaiser  matters  in  which  they 
took  a  special  interest  or  to  call  the  attention  of 
His  Majesty  to  certain  grievances  or  abuses.  I  took 
such  matters  up  only  when  I  was  able  to  inquire 
into  them  thoroughly  and  to  convince  myself  of 
the  justification  for  any  interference.  Even  then 
their  number  was  considerable.  In  most  cases  the 
subjects  were  disagreeable;  and  they  concerned 
affairs  which  my  father  would  probably  never  other- 
wise have  heard  of  and  which  he  nevertheless  ought, 
in  my  opinion,  to  be  made  acquainted  with. 

The  most  difficult  matter  that  I  had  to  take  to 
him  was  doubtless  the  one  which  I  was  forced  to 
deal  with  in  the  year  1907.  It  was  then  that  I  had 
to  open  his  eyes  to  the  affair  of  Prince  Philip  Eulen- 
burg.  Undoubtedly  it  was  the  duty  of  the  respon- 
sible authorities  to  have  called  the  Kaiser's  atten- 
tion long  before  to  this  scandal  which  was  becoming 
known  to  an  ever-widening  circle.  But  they  failed 
to  lay  the  matter  before  him;  and  since  they  left 
him  in  total  ignorance  of  it,  I  was  obliged  to  inter- 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  15 

vene.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  pained  and  horrified 
face  of  my  father,  who  stared  at  me  in  dismay,  when, 
in  the  garden  of  the  Marble  Palace,  I  told  him  of 
the  delinquencies  of  his  near  friends.  The  moral 
purity  of  the  Kaiser  was  such  that  he  could  hardly 
conceive  the  possibility  of  such  aberrations.  In  this 
case  he  thanked  me  unreservedly  for  my  interference. 
In  contrast  with  the  Eulenburg  affair,  most  of  the 
questions  which,  on  my  own  initiative  or  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  others,  I  had  to  bring  before  His  Majesty 
were  questions  of  home  or  foreign  politics,  or  they 
concerned  leading  personages,  nay,  rather  persons 
who  were  irresolute  and  flaccid,  but  who  stuck  tight 
to  posts  which  ought  to  have  been  occupied  by  clear- 
sighted and  steadfast  men.  In  such  cases  the  Kaiser 
generally  listened  to  me  quietly,  and  frequently  he 
took  action;  more  often,  however,  he  was  talked 
round  again  by  some  one  else  after  I  had  left.  It 
was  inevitable  that,  in  the  long  run,  my  reports 
and  suggestions  should  affect  him  disagreeably.  As 
he  travelled  very  much,  I  saw  comparatively  little 
of  him.  In  consequence,  our  meetings  were  mostly 
encumbered  with  a  whole  series  of  communications 
and  questions  by  which  he  felt  himself  bothered.  I 
myself  was  fully  conscious  of  the  pressure  of  these 
circumstances,  but  saw  no  means  of  altering  them. 
Anyway,  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  keep  the  Kaiser 
frankly  informed  of  all  that,  in  my  view,  he  ought 
to  know  but  would  otherwise  remain  ignorant  of. 


16    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Notwithstanding  all  this  tension  and  although  my 
father  was  annoyed  by  certain  idiosyncrasies  of  mine 
— above  all  by  my  disinclination  to  adopt  the  tra- 
ditionally princely  manner — he  was,  in  his  own  way, 
fond  of  me,  and  in  the  secret  recesses  of  his  heart 
proud  of  me  too. 

Naturally,  much  was  whispered,  gossiped  and 
written  in  public  about  these  personal  relations  of 
ours.  If  I  had  possessed  the  nature  to  take  all  this 
sort  of  thing  seriously,  I  might  soon  have  appeared 
very  important  in  my  own  eyes.  Repeatedly  there 
was  talk  of  marked  discord,  of  sharp  reprimands  on 
my  father's  part,  of  open  or  covert  censure.  In  all 
this,  as  I  have  shown  and  as  I  would  in  no  wise  cloak 
or  disguise,  there  was  sometimes  a  grain  of  truth — 
a  grain  about  whose  significance  a  mighty  cackle 
arose  among  the  old  women  of  both  sexes.  To  re- 
iterate, there  were  early  and  manifold  differences  of 
opinion  and  many  of  them  led  to  some  amount  of 
dispute.  In  so  far  as  these  conflicts  were  concerned 
with  personal  affairs  and  not  with  political  ques- 
tions, they  were,  at  bottom,  scarcely  more  last- 
ing or  more  serious  than  those  which  so  often  occur 
everywhere  between  father  and  son,  between  repre- 
sentatives of  one  generation  and  another,  between 
the  conceptions  of  to-day  and  those  of  to-morrow; 
the  difference  lay  in  the  enormous  resonance  of  court 
life  which  echoed  so  disproportionately  such  simple 
events.    Thus,  these  rumors  do  not  really  touch  the 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  17 

heart  of  the  matter.  The  frequently  recurring  fact 
that  father  and  son  differ  fundamentally  in  char- 
acter, temperament  and  nature,  appears  to  me,  so 
far  as  I  know  the  Kaiser  and  know  myself,  applic- 
able to  us.  It  is,  indeed,  regularly  observable  in  the 
history  of  our  house. 

It  is  possible,  too,  that  there  has  come  between 
us  the  great  epochal  change  from  traditional  con- 
ceptions to  a  broader  view  of  life — a  change  which 
seems  to  have  inserted  itself  between  people  of  the 
Kaiser's  years  and  my  contemporaries  and  by  which 
I  have  benefited  while  he  has  viewed  it  with  hos- 
tility. At  any  rate,  many  of  his  notions,  opinions 
and  actions  appeared  to  me  strange  and  even  in- 
comprehensible; they  struck  me  so  at  an  early 
period  of  my  life  and  the  more  so  the  older  I  grew. 
The  first  group  of  the  questions  towards  which,  even 
as  a  lad,  I  felt  a  certain  inner  opposition,  concerned 
court  ceremony  as  it  was  then  practised.  It  was 
painful  to  me  to  see  people  losing  their  freedom 
through  prescribed  and  often  thoroughly  musty 
regulations.  Each  became,  I  may  say,  the  actor 
of  a  part;  nay,  under  the  influence  of  these  sur- 
roundings, men  who  were  otherwise  clever  lost  their 
own  opinion  and  yielded  here  nothing  more  than  the 
average.  Hence,  wherever  possible,  I  myself  later 
on  avoided  everything  courtly,  pompous  or  decora- 
tive; and,  as  far  as  was  feasible,  I  suppressed  all  for- 
malities in  my  own  circle.    For  my  recreative  hours 


18    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

I  desired,  not  endless  reunions  and  ceremonious 
gala  performances,  but  unrestrained  intercourse  with 
people  of  all  kinds,  sociability  in  a  small  circle, 
theatres,  concerts,  hunting  and  sport. 

Intercourse  with  persons  of  my  own  age  always 
had  a  greater  attraction  for  me  than  association 
with  people  much  older  than  myself,  though  I  never 
designedly  avoided  the  latter.  Furthermore,  my 
natural  bent  bringing  me  perhaps  more  in  touch  with 
actualities  than  was  possible  to  my  father  and 
giving  me  the  chance  to  talk  with  and  listen  to  a 
greater  number  of  unprejudiced  persons  of  all  pro- 
fessions, I  frequently  felt  impelled  by  the  convic- 
tions thus  gained  to  warn  and  to  contradict.  But 
I  have  ever  recognized  in  the  Kaiser  my  father,  my 
Imperial  overlord,  to  whom  it  was  my  duty  as  well 
as  my  heart's  wish  to  show  every  respect  and  every 
honor. 

I  have  been  perusing  the  pages  which  I  penned 
recently  as  reminiscences  of  my  childhood  and  of 
my  attitude  towards  my  parents.  The  perusal  sug- 
gests to  me  that  my  jottings  are  not  quite  just  to 
my  father's  character,  that  they  speak  only  of  petty 
weakness,  that,  if  I  am  to  give  a  complete  sketch  of 
his  personality,  I  must  dwell  upon  him  more  in 
detail.  When  I  try  to  distinguish  his  deepest  charac- 
teristic, a  word  forces  itself  upon  my  attention 
which  I  am  almost  shy  of  applying  to  any  man  of 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  19 

our  own  day,  a  word  which  seems  hollow  and  trite 
because,  like  some  small  coin,  it  is  flung  about  so 
continually  and  thoughtlessly:  it  is  the  word  ''EdeV 
(noble).  The  Kaiser  is  noble  in  the  best  sense  of 
the  word;  he  is  full  of  the  most  upright  desire  for 
goodness  and  piety,  and  the  purity  of  his  intel- 
lectual cosmos  is  without  a  blemish  and  without 
a  stain.  Candor  that  makes  no  reservations,  that 
is  perhaps  too  unbounded  in  its  nature,  ready  con- 
fidence and  belief  in  the  like  trustworthiness  and 
frankness  on  the  part  of  others  are  the  fundamental 
features  of  his  chatacter.  Talleyrand  is  said  to 
have  uttered  somewhere  the  maxim:  ''La  parole 
a  ete  donnee  a  Vhomme  pour  deguiser  sa  pensee." 
With  my  father  it  has  often  seemed  to  me  as  though 
speech  had  been  bestowed  upon  him  that  he  might 
unfold  to  his  hearer  every  nook  and  cranny  of  his 
rich  and  sparkling  inner  world.  He  has  always  al- 
lowed his  thoughts  and  convictions  to  gush  forth  in- 
stantaneously and  immediately — ^without  prelude  and 
without  prologue,  an  incautious  and  noble  spend- 
thrift of  an  ever-fertile  intellect  which  draws  its 
sustenance  from  comprehensive  knowledge  and  a 
fancy  whose  only  fault  is  its  exuberance.  More- 
over, he  is  by  nature  and  by  ethico-religious  train- 
ing free  from  all  guile;  he  would  regard  secrecy, 
dissimulation  or  insincerity  as  despicable  and  far 
beneath  his  dignity.  The  idea  that  the  Kaiser 
could  ever  have  wished  to  gain  his  ends  by  false 


20    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

pretenses  or  to  pursue  them  by  tortuous  routes  is 
for  me  quite  unimaginable.  It  may  be  that,  with 
all  this  unreserved  and  unrestrained  self-expression, 
the  passion  for  complete  frankness  which  is  implanted 
in  every  virtuous  being  found,  in  the  Kaiser,  its 
strongest  support  in  his  evident  overestimation  of 
his  momentary  personal  influence.  In  a  personal 
exchange  of  ideas  he  believed  himself  to  be  sure  of 
immediate  victory  and  to  need  the  expedients  of 
trickery  or  dodgery  just  as  little  as  he  did  wordy 
diplomatic  skirmishing.  I  have  a  thousand  times 
observed  the  effects  of  his  personality  to  be  indeed 
very  great  and  have  seen  men  of  otherwise  thor- 
oughly independent  habit  fall  an  easy  prey  to  his 
frequently  fascinating,  though  perhaps  only  transi- 
tory, influence. 

Nevertheless,  such  successes,  experienced  from 
youth  onward  and,  still  more,  the  consequent  ex- 
pressions of  admiration  and  the  flattery  of  com- 
plaisant friends  and  courtiers  in  the  end  clouded  his 
judgment  concerning  the  expediency  of  thus  sacrific- 
ing every  final  reserve  as  well  as  obscuring  his  in- 
sight into  the  fact  that  the  individual^ven  though 
he  be  an  emperor  and  a  never  so  energetic  personal- 
ity— ^is  of  little  ultimate  weight  in  comparison  with 
the  vast  world-shifting  currents  of  time. 

To  this  lack  of  perspective  in  estimating  his  per- 
sonal relations  and  his  personal  influence  may  be 
partly  attributed  his  remaining  so  long  unconscious 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  21 

of  the  full  significance  of  the  approaching  danger. 
Many  a  false  estimate  was  formed  by  him  in  this  re- 
gard, and  his  confiding  trust  was  not  seldom  lulled 
into  security  by  clever  opponents. 

So  it  happened  that,  even  when  the  enormous 
pressure  of  economic  and  political  forces  was  incon- 
trollably  driving  the  world  towards  the  catastrophe 
of  war,  he  believed  himself  able  to  bring  the  wheels 
of  fate  to  a  standstill  by  means  of  his  influence  in 
London  and  St.  Petersburg.  The  capacity  to  esti- 
mate men  and  things  correctly — ^that  is,  impartially 
and  objectively  and  without  any  personal  exaggera- 
tion— ^is  of  the  greatest  moment  to  rulers  and  states- 
men. It  has  not  been  liberally  bestowed  upon  the 
Kaiser,  and  my  impression  is  that  responsible  indi- 
viduals and  the  heads  of  the  various  "cabinets" 
have  not,  by  any  means,  always  intervened  with 
the  energy  necessary  to  correct  erroneous  concep- 
tions of  this  description. 

In  the  depths  of  his  nature  my  father  is  a  thor- 
oughly kind-hearted  man  striving  to  make  people 
happy  and  to  create  joyousness  around  him.  But 
this  trait  is  often  concealed  by  his  desire  not  to 
appear  tender  but  royal  and  exalted  above  the  small 
emotions  of  sentiment.  He  is  thoroughly  idealistic 
in  thought  and  feeling  and  full  of  confidence  towards 
every  collaborator  who  enters  fresh  into  his  environ- 
ment. Present  and  future  he  has  always  seen  and 
gauged  in  the  mirror  of  his  own  most  individual 


22    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

mental  cosmos,  which  became  all  the  more  unreal, 
the  harder  and  the  more  inflexible  grew  the  secret 
and  the  open  struggle  for  our  national  existence, 
both  within  the  realm  and  without  it,  or  the  more 
harshly  one  fragment  of  this  cosmos  of  ideas  after 
another  was  snatched  away  and  crushed  by  the  hand 
of  destiny. 

In  the  chivalrous  ethics  of  the  Kaiser  his  con- 
ception of  loyalty  is  of  great  moment.  He  de- 
mands it  without  reserve,  and  there  is  scarcely  any 
dereliction  which  he  feels  more  keenly  than  actions 
or  omissions  that  he  regards  as  breaches  of  trust. 
Take  one  example:  he  has  never,  from  the  bottom 
of  his  heart,  pardoned  Prince  Biilow  for  not  giving 
him  that  support  which  he  might  have  expected  in 
the  November  incidents  of  1908.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  those  severe  conflicts, 
with  their  stormy  Reichstag  sittings  and  their  num- 
berless press  attacks,  meant  for  him  far  more  than 
an  affront  to  his  Imperial  position  or  dignity.  It  was 
only  to  outsiders  that  they  appeared  to  have  this 
effect.  Possibly  I  was  able  at  that  time  to  see 
deeper  into  the  heart  of  my  Imperial  father  than 
any  one,  save  my  dear  mother;  and  I  am  firmly 
convinced  that,  from  experiences  which  were  for 
him  barely  conceivable  and  scarcely  tolerable,  his 
self-confidence  received  a  blow  from  which  it  has 
never  recovered.  His  joyous  readiness  of  decision 
and  intrepid  energy  of  will,  till  then  undaunted, 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  23 

were  suddenly  broken;  and  I  believe  that  the  germ 
was  then  planted  of  the  lack  of  decision  and  vacil- 
lation noticeable  in  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  and 
especially  during  the  war.  From  that  moment  on- 
ward, the  Kaiser  allowed  affairs  to  glide  more  and 
more  into  the  hands  of  the  responsible  advisers  in 
the  various  Government  departments,  eliminating 
himself  and  his  own  views  either  partially  or  even 
entirely.  A  secret  and  never-expressed  anxiety  con- 
cerning possible  fresh  conflicts  and  responsibilities 
which  he  might  have  to  confront  had  come  over  him. 
Where  strong  hands  were  needed,  complaisant  and 
officious  persons  pushed  themselves  forward,  and, 
making  use  of  the  opportunity  to  usurp  functions 
which  should  never  have  come  within  their  scope, 
they  dragged  into  the  sphere  of  their  own  small- 
mindedness  matters  which,  so  long  as  the  then 
current  constitutional  ideas  remained  valid,  ought 
never  to  have  been  withdrawn  from  the  range  of 
the  unhampered  Imperial  will.  Still  I  will  not  be 
too  hard  upon  these  advisers;  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
unjust  to  them;  it  may  be  that,  in  the  anguish  of 
those  dark  days,  His  Majesty  was  sometimes  even 
grateful  to  them  for  so  busily  troubling  their  heads 
— it  may  be  that  they  believed  themselves  to  be 
acting  for  the  best  while  in  reality  creating  only 
evil. 

The  Kaiser,  too,  in  those  years  of  self-depression 
and  of  weakness  just  as  in  his  days  of  unbroken 


24    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

self-confidence,  desired  to  do  his  best,  and  he  re- 
garded as  the  best  the  peace  of  the  realm.  Nothing 
should  destroy  that;  with  every  means  at  his  com- 
mand he  would  secure  that  to  the  empire.  The  ter- 
rible tragedy  of  his  life  and  of  his  life's  work  lay  in 
the  fact  that  everything  he  undertook  to  this  end 
turned  to  the  reverse  and  became  a  countercheck 
to  his  aims,  so  that  finally  a  situation  arose  in  which 
we  were  faced  by  enemy  upon  enemy. 

April,  1919. 

Weeks  have  passed  since  I  last  occupied  myself 
with  these  pages.  Tidings  have  come  to  hand 
which  are  enough  almost  to  break  one's  heart, — 
which  show  our  poor  country  to  be  torn  by  internal 
dissension  and  to  be  conducting  a  desperate  struggle 
with  a  pack  of  heartless  and  greedy  ** victors."  In 
the  face  of  these  monstrous  events  and  problems,  I 
have  felt  as  though  the  individual  had  no  right 
whatever  to  review  and  determine  the  petty  incidents 
of  his  own  life  and  destiny.  Thus  spring  has  had  to 
come  before  I  could  revert  once  more  to  my  task — 
spring  with  its  sunny,  green  pastures  in  which  droll 
little  lambs  are  skipping  beside  the  dirty  winter- 
wooUed  ewes,  and  across  which  blow  the  clear  sea- 
breezes  in  ceaseless  restlessness. 

In  this  radiance  and  in  the  revived  color  every- 
where visible,  all  things  look  better,  and  people  too 
have  more  genial  faces. 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  25 

When  I  think  of  these  first  months  here  in  the 
island !  With  the  best  will  to  make  the  best  of  it, 
there  was  not  much  to  be  done.  Distrust  and  re- 
serve in  every  one — among  the  fisherfolk  and  among 
the  peasants,  and  among  the  tradespeople  in  Ooster- 
land,  in  Hippolytushoef  and  in  Den  Oever.  A  shy 
edging  to  one  side  when  you  came  by:  "De  kroon- 
prins" — and  that  was  as  much  as  to  say:  "That 
Boche — the  murderer  of  Verdun,  the  libertine." 
What  the  Entente  with  the  help  of  their  mendacious 
press  and  their  agents  had  beaten  into  the  minds  of 
these  good  people  had  got  thoroughly  fixed.  Nor 
was  there  any  possibility  of  an  explanation  with 
them  concerning  this  nonsense.  Moreover,  my  quar- 
ters can  scarcely  be  heated,  since  these  little  iron 
stoves  will  not  bum,  and  our  famous  single  lamp 
smokes  and  can  only  bum  when  petroleum  is  to 
be  had.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  it  is  dark,  one  crawls 
into  bed  and  lies  there  sleepless  to  torture  oneself 
with  the  same  matters  over  and  over  again,  and 
gets  half  mad  with  worrying  over  the  questions: 
"How  did  it  all  happen?"— "Where  lies  the  blame?" 
— "How  might  one  have  done  better?" 

Now,  all  has  grown  less  hard  and  is  more  tolera- 
ble. To-day,  the  people  of  the  island  know  that 
none  of  all  the  slanders  that  have  been  circulated 
about  me  are  justified.  Their  distmst  has  van- 
ished; their  simple,  unsophisticated  nature  now 
meets  me  frankly.    Every  one  greets  me  in  a  friend- 


26    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

ly  manner,  and  most  people  shake  hands.  I 
also  receive  occasional  invitations  and  then  sit  in 
these  clean  little  rooms  to  sip  a  cup  of  cocoa 
and  make  trial  of  my  acquirements  in  the  Dutch 
language. 

One  person  in  particular  has  done  much  to  en- 
lighten people  and  to  smooth  my  path,  namely. 
Burgomaster  Peereboom.  At  the  outset,  he  was  the 
only  one  who  thrust  aside  all  prejudice,  and  sought 
to  see  and  to  help  the  human  individual — he  and 
his  family.  And  to  him  and  to  his  warm-hearted 
and  active  wife  I  am  indebted  for  many  a  little  im- 
provement in  my  modest  household  at  the  Parson- 
age as  well  as  for  many  a  wise  hint  that  taught  me 
to  understand  my  new  environment.  One  or  two 
Germans  also  tendered  me  immediate  help;  among 
them  the  experienced  Count  Bassenheim  of  Amster- 
dam, who  knows  Holland  as  well  as  he  does  his 
beautiful  Bavaria;  then  the  clever  and  ever-faithful 
Baron  Huenefeld,  formerly  vice-consul  at  Maas- 
tricht, whose  care  for  me  has  been  most  touching; 
further,  there  are  several  German  business  men  of 
Amsterdam,  faithful,  self-sacrificing  men  to  whom  I 
owe  a  lifelong  debt  of  gratitude.  And  so  there  only 
remains  unchanged  the  anxiety  as  touching  my  old 
home,  my  country,  the  longing  for  her  and  for  those 
to  whom  I  belong. 

But  not  of  that  now.  I  will  talk  here  of  that 
other  life  which  to  me,  in  the  seclusion  of  this  island. 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  27 

often  appears  so  distant  as  to  be  separated  from  the 
present  by  a  whole  train  of  years. 

Bom  heir-apparent  to  a  throne,  I  was  brought  up 
in  the  particular  notions  valid  by  tradition  for  a 
Prussian  prince.  No  one  in  the  family  had  ever 
cherished  a  doubt  as  to  the  suitability  and  excellence 
of  these  principles,  for  in  their  youth  all  its  male 
members  had  traversed  exactly  the  same  path. 

While  fully  recognizing  the  undeniable  value  of  the 
old  Prussian  traditions,  I  believe,  nevertheless,  that 
the  narrow,  sharply  defined  and  hedged-in  educa- 
tion of  Prussian  princes  (in  which  the  rigid  etiquette 
of  the  court  combines  with  the  anxious  care  of  the 
parental  home  to  provide  instructions  for  mentor, 
tutor  and  adviser)  is  calculated  to  produce  a  definite 
and  not  very  original  product  adapted  to  ceremonial 
duties  rather  than  a  modern  man  capable  of  taking 
an  unswerving  course  in  the  life  of  his  times.  If 
I  had  submitted  tamely  to  the  system,  it  would  in 
time  have  led  me  into  a  position  in  which  I  should 
have  been  ignorant  of  the  world,  sequestered  and 
secluded.  The  worst  of  such  a  position  appears  to 
me  to  be,  not  the  Chinese  Wall  itself,  but  the  ulti- 
mate incapacity  to  see  the  wall,  so  that  the  immured 
imagines  himself  free  while  in  reality  his  mental 
range  is  closely  circumscribed. 

At  an  early  age,  and  certainly  at  the  outset  as  a 
mere  consequence  of  my  natural  disposition  though 


28    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

later  with  growing  consciousness  and  maturer  judg- 
ment, I  opposed  the  efforts  to  level  out  the  inde- 
pendent features  in  me  with  the  object  of  creating 
a  "Normal  Prussian  Prince."  Two  directly  diverg- 
ing views  were  at  work  here.  On  the  one  hand  was 
the  traditional  notion  stressed  so  emphatically 
throughout  His  Majesty's  reign,  the  notion  of  the 
augustness  (erhabenheit,  exaltedness)  of  the  ruler, 
the  notion — figuratively  expressed  in  the  word  itself 
— that  the  Prince,  King,  Kaiser  must  stand  elevated 
high  above  the  level  of  the  governed  classes;  on  the 
other  hand  was  my  own  conception  that  he  must 
become  acquainted  with  life  as  it  is  and  as  it  has  to 
be  lived  by  people  of  every  station.  It  remains  to 
be  said  that  the  endeavor  to  be  true  to  my  con- 
viction in  thought  and  act  caused  me  many  a  strug- 
gle and  many  an  unpleasantness. 

The  upbringing  and  the  daily  life  of  us  children 
in  the  Imperial  parental  home  was  simple.  We 
certainly  were  not  indulged — least  of  all  by  our 
military  governors. 

My  first  military  governor — I  was  then  a  lad  of 
seven  years — was  the  subsequent  General  von  Fal- 
kenhayn.  I  remember  him  with  reverence  and 
gratitude.  He  did  not  pamper  me;  permitted  no 
excuses;  and  even  in  those  childhood  years  he  im- 
pressed upon  me  that,  for  a  man,  the  words  "dan- 
ger" and  "fear"  should  not  exist.  In  the  best  sense, 
he  passed  on  to  me  the  undaunted  freshness  of  his 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  29 

faithful  soldierliness.  There  was  in  me  from  infancy 
a  passion  for  horses  and  riding.  General  von  Fal- 
kenhayn  arranged  our  rides  in  the  beautiful  environs 
of  Potsdam  in  such  a  way  that  we  had  obstacles  to 
surmount.  Hedges,  fences,  walls,  ditches  and  steep 
gravel-pits  had  to  be  briskly  taken.  He  used  to  say 
on  such  occasions:  ** Fling  your  heart  across  first; 
the  rest  will  follow."  That  saying  I  have  taken 
with  me  through  life;  again  and  again,  and  in  recent 
circumstances  when  the  drab  hours  of  my  destiny 
and  my  loneliness  here  in  this  island  have  threatened 
to  stifle  me,  the  general  has  stood  before  my  mind's 
eye  and  has  helped  me  over  my  difficulties  with  his 
brave  soldierly  philosophy. 

Even  when  a  lad  I  had  to  prove  myself  as  patrol 
and  scout,  and  I  was  also  instructed  in  reading  maps. 
Gymnastics,  drill  and  swimming  were  ardently  prac- 
tised as  physical  training. 

An  event  that  made  a  deep  impression  upon  my 
young  mind  recurs  to  me.  I  was  permitted  to  pre- 
sent myself  to  Prince  Bismarck  in  due  form  and  not 
in  the  unofficial  way  in  which  I  had  done  so  when, 
as  a  youngster,  I  suddenly  surprised  him  in  his  den. 
From  my  father  I  received  instructions  to  don  my 
uniform  and  meet  him  at  Friedrichsruh;  I  was  go- 
ing to  the  eightieth  birthday  of  the  ex-chancellor 
(Alt-Reichskanzler).  To  don  uniform  was,  even  in 
that  early  period,  the  acme  of  delight  to  my  boyish 
heart;   and  to  this  was  to  be  added  a  visit  to  the 


30    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

man  whom,  then  as  now,  a  healthy  instinct  taught 
me  to  regard  as  a  sort  of  legendary  hero.  In  the 
night  before  this  journey,  I  did  not  sleep  a  wink. 

Bismarck  was  suffering  severely  from  gout,  and 
leaned  upon  a  stick  to  welcome  us  in  the  castle. 
At  lunch  he  displayed  an  astounding  liveliness  and 
vigor;  but,  as  a  consequence  of  the  excitement  nat- 
urally experienced  in  this  first  ** official"  appearance 
of  mine,  this  general  impression  is  all  that  I  have 
preserved  in  my  recollection.  Moreover,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  I  was  rendered  somewhat  anxious 
during  the  meal  by  the  Prince's  big  boarhound,  who 
suddenly  laid  his  cold  nose  on  my  knee  under  the 
table,  and  growled  very  unmistakably  whenever, 
unobserved,  I  tried  to  free  myself. 

After  lunch.  His  Majesty  mounted  horse  and,  on 
a  piece  of  ploughland  close  to  the  castle,  awaited 
Bismarck  at  the  head  of  the  Halberstadt  Cuirassiers, 
whose  chief  the  aged  Prince  had  been  appointed.  I 
had  the  honor  of  accompanying  the  old  gentleman 
in  his  carriage.  In  a  truly  paternal  manner,  he 
pointed  out  to  me  all  the  beauties  of  the  Friedrichs- 
ruh  Park.  My  father  delivered  a  very  fine  speech 
and  presented  the  Prince  with  a  sumptuously 
wrought  sword  of  honor.  The  Prince  replied  with 
a  few  pregnant  words. 

Then  we  returned  to  the  castle.  I  noticed  that 
the  Prince  was  very  weary  and  fatigued;  the  pro- 
longed standing  had  doubtless  put  too  great  a  strain 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  31 

upon  him.  His  breathing  was  quick  and  heavy; 
and  finally  he  tried  to  open  the  tight  collar  of  his 
uniform,  but  failed.  Almost  startled  by  my  own 
boldness,  I  bent  over  him  and  undid  it;  then  he 
pressed  my  hand  and  nodded  gratefully. 

We  left  the  same  afternoon.  On  this  beautiful 
day,  which  I  would  not,  for  all  that  is  dear  to  me, 
have  blotted  out  of  my  memory,  I  had  seen  for  the 
last  time  the  greatest  German  of  his  century. 

Our  first  scientific  education  we  received  from  our 
private  tutor.  I  cannot  approve  of  this  method, 
for  the  pupil  misses  the  stimulating  rivalry  of  com- 
rades. When"!  entered  the  Cadet  School  at  Plon 
as  a  lad  of  fourteen,  in  April,  1896,  large  gaps  mani- 
fested themselves  in  my  knowledge,  which  neces- 
sitated a  good  deal  of  overwork. 

In  my  Plon  days,  the  future  General  von  Lyncker 
acted  as  governor  to  me  and  to  my  brother  Eitel 
Friedrich.  He  was  a  typical  high-minded  Prussian 
officer  of  the  old  school.  His  unswervingly  serious 
nature  made  it  rather  difficult  for  him  to  enter  into 
the  ideas  of  us  immature  little  creatures  or  to  dis- 
cover the  appropriate  means  of  managing  us.  And 
we  were  real  children  at  that  time.  For  him  there 
existed  only  orders,  school,  work  and  duty,  and 
again  orders  and  duty.  When  I  grew  a  bit  older, 
we  often  got  to  loggerheads.  As  a  youth,  I  cer- 
tainly was  not  a  pattern  being  for  the  show-window 
of  a  boys'  boarding-school;   but  that  there  was  so 


32    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

much  to  complain  of  as  General  von  Lyncker  man- 
aged to  discover  day  in  day  out,  I  really  caimot  be- 
lieve. Moreover,  although  quite  unintentionally  on 
his  part,  his  somewhat  hard  and  unyielding  manner 
hurt  me.  But  it  was  this  very  General  von  Lyncker 
whom  the  Kaiser  afterwards  employed  as  go-be- 
tween when  disagreeable  conflicts  arose.  Although 
I  readily  and  gratefully  acknowledge  that,  in  the  task 
imposed  upon  him.  General  von  Lyncker  never 
adopted  the  role  of  time-serving  tale-bearer  or  con- 
sciously increased  the  friction — anything  of  the  kind 
would  have  been  totally  irreconcilable  with  his  sin- 
cere and  lofty  character — still,  I  cannot  help  saying 
that  the  introduction  of  his  frequently  brusque 
manner  rather  tended  to  widen  the  breach  than  to 
narrow  it. 

As  Plon  cadets,  we  were  very  fond  of  Frau  von 
Lyncker.  At  that  time  a  special  School  of  Princes 
was  formed  at  Plon  for  my  brother  Fritz  and  me. 
Each  of  us  had  three  fellow  pupils.  In  harmony 
with  the  totally  false  educational  principle  which 
this  evinced,  any  association  with  the  other  cadets 
was  looked  at  askance.  Nevertheless,  from  the 
very  first  day  onward,  we  continually  leaped  o'er 
the  barriers  and  seized  every  opportunity  of  culti- 
vating comradeship  and  friendly  relations  with  the 
other  lads  of  the  corps.  The  football,  the  rowing 
matches  and  the  snowball  fights  are  still  for  me 
pleasant  recollections.    Many  of  my  then  "corps'* 


CHILDHOOD  DAYS  33 

companions,  drawn  from  the  most  varied  classes, 
have  become  good  friends  of  mine  with  whom  I 
have  remained  bound  by  close  ties  ever  since.  Dur- 
ing the  war,  I  often  quite  unexpectedly  ran  up 
against  one  or  other  of  my  old  Plon  comrades  in 
distant  France;  and  then,  amid  all  the  harsh  ear- 
nestness of  the  time,  the  long-lost,  care-free  days 
of  youth  rose  before  our  memories  like  a  sweet 
smile. 

In  acquiescence  with  my  special  wish,  I  was  per- 
mitted to  apprentice  myself  to  a  master  turner. 
Among  the  Hohenzollems  it  is  customary  for  every 
Prince  to  learn  a  trade.  In  general,  of  course,  such 
princely  apprenticeships  must  not  be  regarded  too 
seriously,  though  the  tradition  is  a  valuable  symbol 
and  un  beau  geste.  Now,  while  I  will  not  assert 
that  I  could  make  my  way  in  the  world  with  my 
turner's  craft,  I  can  say  with  truth  that  I  have  prac- 
tised it  with  pleasure  again  and  again  and  that  mas- 
ter and  apprentice  took  the  matter  quite  seriously. 
My  good  master  kept  me  hard  at  it,  and  I  was  an 
ardent  and  willing  pupil,  and  felt  thoroughly  happy 
in  the  atmosphere  of  the  joiner's  workshop  and  in 
his  simple,  cleanly  household. 

Our  associations  at  Plon  took  us  into  the  families 
of  the  masters,  and  we  had  also  friendly  relations 
with  the  grammar-school  boys.  Furthermore,  I  had 
a  few  "friends"  among  the  farmers  of  the  neighbor- 
hood; I  ploughed  many  a  piece  of  their  land,  and  I 


34    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

still  remember  how  proud  I  was  when  my  furrow 
turned  out  neat  and  straight. 

In  the  year  1887,  that  is,  long  before  my  Plon 
days,  an  event  happened  which  I  must  recall  here  as 
it  made  a  strong  and  vivid  impression  on  my  young 
imagination.  It  was  my  first  sea  trip.  The  aged 
Queen  Victoria  was  to  celebrate  the  jubilee  of  her 
reign.  My  parents  went  to  England  to  take  part 
in  the  festivity  and  took  me  with  them.  It  was  at 
a  great  garden  fete  in  St.  James's  Park  that  I  first 
saw  the  Queen — sitting  in  a  bath-chair  in  front  of 
a  sumptuously  decorated  tent.  She  was  very 
friendly  to  me,  kissed  me  and  kept  on  fondling  me 
with  her  aged  and  slightly  trembling  hands.  Un- 
fortunately, I  have  no  recollection  whatever  of  the 
words  she  spoke;  I  only  know  that  my  boyish  fancy 
was  far  more  occupied  with  the  two  giant  Indians 
on  guard  before  the  tent  than  with  the  weary  little 
old  lady  herself. 

The  huge  multitude  in  St.  Jameses  Park  and  the 
intermingling  of  representatives  of  almost  every 
race  made  a  deep  impression  upon  me.  And  if  my 
youthfulness  rendered  me  unable  to  appreciate  the 
symbolism  of  the  British  world-power  embodied  in 
the  picture,  it  nevertheless  absorbed  with  awe  the 
astounding  copiousness  of  what  it  saw  and  forever 
guarded  me  from  underrating  the  significance  of  the 
British  Empire. 


CHAPTER  II 

SOLDIER,  SPORTSMAN,  AND  STUDENT 

If  I  regard  the  turn  of  the  century  as  the  close  of 
my  childhood  and  youth,  I  would  consider  the  years 
which  followed  as  my  apprenticeship. 

After  I  had  passed  my  matriculation  examination, 
and  following  upon  the  declaration  of  my  majority 
on  May  6,  1900,  my  father  placed  me  in  the  body 
company  of  the  First  Foot-Guards,  in  which  regi- 
ment, according  to  tradition,  every  Prussian  Prince 
must  first  serve.  This  was  a  good  thing  since  that 
regiment  has  always  been  conspicuous  for  its  excel- 
lence, and  the  young  Princes  receive  in  it  a  thor- 
oughly strict  training.  I  was  afterwards  appointed 
lieutenant  and  chief  of  the  2d  Company,  which 
my  father  had  commanded  when  a  young  Prince; 
accordingly,  I  said  to  myself:  "You  are  taking  here 
the  first  steps  on  the  road  which  is  to  lead  you, 
through  years  of  learning,  to  the  great  tasks  of  life." 

I  was  inspired  by  the  strongest  faith  in  my  life 
and  my  future — ^filled  with  a  sacred  determination 
to  be  honest  and  conscientious.  The  moment  when, 
in  the  venerable  old  Schlosskapelle  in  Berlin,  I  took 
the  military  oath  on  the  colors  of  the  body  corps 
before  my  Imperial  father  and  Supreme  War  Lord 
still  stands  out  clearly  before  me  in  all  its  thrilling 
solemnity. 

35 


36    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

The  barracks  of  the  First  Foot-Guards,  the  regi- 
ment house  and  the  Casino  of  the  Officers'  Corps 
were  now  my  new  home;  the  rigid  and  numerous 
military  tasks  were  my  new  school.  The  chief  of 
my  company,  Count  Rantzau,  was  a  typical  old, 
experienced  and  conscientious  Prussian  officer  of  the 
line.  He  himself  was  always  punctual  to  the  min- 
ute; he  never  spared  himself,  and  he  devoted  him- 
self fully  to  his  profession;  but  he  also  required  the 
utmost  from  his  officers  and  his  men.  Accuracy  in 
every  detail  and  strictness  towards  laxity  were  com- 
bined with  an  unerring  sense  of  justice  and  a  warm 
heart  which  followed  with  human  sympathy  the 
progress  of  every  one.  His  company  revered  him. 
Now,  that  excellent  man  rests  in  French  soil  before 
Rheims. 

Stem  but  just,  a  man  and  superior  as  he  ought  to 
be,  honored  and  respected  by  me  and  by  all  was 
likewise  my  first  commander.  Colonel  von  Pletten- 
berg.  With  the  same  feelings,  I  recall  also  my  old 
battalion  commander.  Major  von  Pliiskow;  a  giant 
even  among  the  tall  officers  of  the  regiment,  he  was 
famous  as  a  drill-master  and,  despite  his  strictness, 
much  liked  as  an  ever-kind  superior. 

What  I  learned  in  the  Foot-Guards  formed  the 
foundation  of  my  entire  military  career.  The  value 
of  faithfulness  in  little  things,  the  much-decried 
fatigue-uniform,  the  iron  discipline  and  the  abused, 
because  misunderstood,  Prussian  drill  became  clear 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,   STUDENT      37 

to  me  in  their  full  significance  as  a  means  of  concen- 
trating the  vast  number  of  heads  and  forces  into 
a  single  unit  of  the  greatest  strength.  The  army- 
trained  on  these  principles  gained  the  great  and  im- 
perishable victories  of  the  year  1914.  Unfortu- 
nately, in  the  long  course  of  the  war,  this  admirable 
Prussian  method  was  pushed  more  and  more  into 
the  background,  greatly  to  the  detriment  of  the 
army  and  its  value. 

On  the  whole,  my  lieutenancy  was  an  incompar- 
ably pleasant  time.  I  was  young  and  healthy,  ful- 
filled my  duties  with  passionate  devotion  and  saw 
life  in  sunshine  before  me.  A  circle  of  friends  of  like 
age  with  myself  enabled  mie  to  enjoy  the  blessings 
of  that  comradeship  which  is  the  most  important 
root  whence  a  Prussian  corps  of  officers  draws  its 
strength.  To-day,  alas,  the  green  sods  of  France 
and  Russia  cover  the  mortal  remains  of  most  of  the 
brave  and  trusty  men  who  were  then  young  and 
joyous  and  faithful;  it  is  lonesome  around  me. 

In  those  distant  days  of  my  lieutenancy  and  for 
years  afterwards,  three  dear  friends  stood  particu- 
larly near  to  me;  they  were  Count  Finckenstein, 
von  Wedel  and  von  Mitzlaff — all  of  them  at  that 
time  lieutenants.  They  shared  with  me  joy  and 
sorrow  till  fate  separated  us  forever.  Fincken- 
stein and  von  Wedel  fell  in  the  ranks  of  our  fine  old 
regiment — my  dear  Wedel  at  Colonfey  and  brave 
Finckenstein  at  the  head  of  his  company  at  Ba- 


38    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

paume.  Mitzlaff  was,  for  a  time,  orderly  officer  in 
my  staff;  subsequently  he  took  over  a  squadron  in 
the  East  and  then  returned  to  the  west  front  as 
battalion  leader.  A  mournful  shroud  hangs  over 
the  memory  of  my  last  sight  of  this  trusty  comrade. 
It  was  in  the  summer  of  1918,  just  before  the  last 
great  Rheims  attack.  On  a  visit  to  the  staff  of  my 
brave  Seventh  Reserve  Division,  I  learned  by  acci- 
dent that  my  friend  Mitzlaff  was  with  his  battalion 
in  the  neighborhood.  I  at  once  drove  over  to  him 
and  found  him  in  a  little  half-demolished  farmhouse. 
Seated  on  a  broken  camp-bed,  and  sharing  some 
cigarettes  and  a  bottle  of  bad  claret  which  he  had 
managed  to  rake  up  somewhere  in  honor  of  my 
visit,  we  chatted  for  a  long  time  about  the  events 
of  our  youth  and  exchanged  many  an  anxious  word 
concerning  the  future.  Both  of  us  knew  how  mat- 
ters stood  and  how  overfatigued  the  troops  were. 
Mitzlaff  himself,  however,  was  of  good  cheer.  Then 
we  held  each  other's  hand  for  a  good  while  and 
parted.  I  drove  back  to  my  staff  quarters;  while 
he  moved  up  into  the  front  position  with  his  men. 
Three  weeks  later  I  stood  beside  his  simple  soldier's 
grave;  a  few  days  after  I  had  bidden  him  farewell, 
the  brave  chap  had  fallen  at  the  head  of  his  men  in 
storming  the  enemy's  position.  He  was  the  last  of 
my  three  faithful  friends. 

I  remained  with  the  First  Foot-Guards  one  year. 
During  that  time,  the  evening  order-slip  beside  my 


SOLDIER,  SPORTSMAN,  STUDENT     39 

bed  determined  the  hours  of  the  following  day.  But, 
in  that  winter,  there  was  not  much  sleep  for  me;  for 
my  position  demanded  my  presence  at  court  festivi- 
ties and  a  crowd  of  private  gatherings.  Often  I  did 
not  get  to  bed  till  two  o'clock,  and  by  seven  I  was 
in  the  barracks,  where  my  duties  kept  me  busy  till 
noon  and  again  from  two  till  five.  Frequently,  too, 
after-dinner  attendance  at  the  cleaning  of  rifles, 
saddlery,  and  so  on,  fell  to  my  lot.  This  task  I 
was  particularly  fond  of.  My  grenadiers  sat  in 
the  lamplight  cleaning  and  polishing  their  kits. 
This  provided  a  natural  opportunity  to  approach 
them  quite  closely  and  humanly  and  to  converse 
with  them  about  their  little  personal  joys,  sorrows 
and  wishes.  They  talked  of  their  homes  or  of  their 
civilian  occupations  with  brightened  eyes,  the  fine 
German  folk-songs  and  soldier's  ballads  filling  up 
the  intervals  in  the  conversation.  To  have  shared 
in  such  an  evening  would  perhaps  have  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  clever  people  who  babble  so  much  about 
the  tyranny  and  harsh  treatment  of  the  militarism 
of  that  time. 

During  my  lieutenancy,  as  also  afterwards,  I  de- 
voted as  much  of  my  leisure  time  as  possible  to  sport. 
This  I  did,  not  merely  because  of  my  natural  in- 
clination for  sport,  but  also  because  I  considered  its 
practice  to  be  of  particular  significance  for  the  future 
head  of  a  state;  and  that  is,  after  all,  what  I  was. 

The  community  of  sport  is  calculated,  more  than 


40    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

anything  else,  to  remove  internal  and  external  bar- 
riers between  people  of  like  aims;  for  it  is  exactly 
in  sport  that  the  actually  and  manifestly  best 
performance  is  decisive.  Who  accomplishes  it — 
whether  junker,  business  man  or  factory-hand,  Chris- 
tian, Jew  or  Moslem — is  a  matter  of  indifference. 
Therefore  I  have  repeatedly  attended  bicycle  races, 
football  matches,  route  marches  and  other  sporting 
events;  and,  on  suitable  occasions,  I  have  promoted 
them  by  the  presentation  of  prizes.  This,  again,  is 
one  of  the  things  by  which  I  have  given  offense:  a 
properly  brought  up  heir-apparent  should,  forsooth, 
maintain  an  exalted  position  and  hold  himself  aloof 
from  such  noisy  affairs.  All  right,  then,  I  have  pur- 
posely not  been  this  ideal  of  a  prescribed  heir-appar- 
ent; instead,  by  visiting  sporting  events,  I  have 
gained  an  insight  into  the  life  and  bustle,  and  into 
the  exigencies  and  desires  of  many  classes  of  people 
with  whom  otherwise,  by  reason  of  my  upbringing 
and  general  circumstances,  I  should  never  have 
come  into  touch. 

In  those  days,  however,  I  was,  above  all,  heart 
and  soul  a  soldier;  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that,  of  an  evening,  I  looked  forward  with  pleasure 
to  my  next  day's  duties.  The  training  and  the  as- 
sociation with  the  rank  and  file,  the  strict  old-Prus- 
sian discipline,  the  healthy  physical  exercise  in  wind 
and  weather,  the  pride  taken  in  the  ancient  regi- 
mental uniform — all  this  made  me  love  the  service. 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,   STUDENT      41 

As  with  all  things  else,  so  too  with  the  soldier's 
calling,  one  must  bend  to  the  task  with  one's  whole 
being  and  with  real  love  and  devotion,  if  success  is 
to  be  obtained.  This  is  the  spirit  that  must  ani- 
mate both  the  officer  and  his  troops. 

Short  energetic  spells  of  work  with  the  utmost 
exercise  of  all  one's  capacity,  smartness  and  dis- 
cipline, cleanliness  and  punctuality,  punishment  for 
every  negligence  or  passive  resistance,  but  a  warm 
heart  for  the  most  meagre  or  the  stupidest  recruit, 
gaiety  in  the  barracks,  as  much  furlough  as  possible, 
exceptional  distinctions  for  exceptional  performances 
— in  a  word,  sunshine  during  military  service  formed 
the  fundamental  principle  which  guided  me. 

May,  1919. 
Two  bitter-sweet  days  have  been  mine  in  this 
month  of  May.  On  the  sixth,  I  celebrated  the 
thirty-seventh  anniversary  of  my  birth.  Loving 
letters  from  family  and  numberless  indications  of 
remembrance  from  all  parts  of  my  native  country 
the  homeland  proved  to  me  here  in  my  seclusion 
that  there  are  still  people  who  feel  that  they  belong 
to  me  and  cannot  be  alienated  from  me  by  a  never 
so  wildly  raging  campaign  of  slander.  From  the 
island  and  from  the  Dutch  mainland,  many  touching 
indications  of  love  and  sympathy  have  also  reached 
me — little,  well-meant  presents  for  the  improvement 
of  my  modest  household,  flowers  in  such  plenty  that 


42    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  small  narrow  rooms  of  the  parsonage  cannot 
contain  them. 

And  then,  after  all  the  unspeakably  severe  and 
lonely  experience  of  the  past  half-year,  I  was  able, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Dutch  Government,  to  leave 
the  island  towards  the  end  of  the  month  and  to 
celebrate  a  day  with  my  mother  on  the  estate  of 
good  Baron  Wrangel.  ** Celebrate"?  I  don't  know 
whether  that  word  suits  the  hours  in  which,  arm  in 
arm,  and  no  one  near,  we  walked  up  and  down  in 
the  rose-dappled  garden,  and,  as  so  often  in  the  bet- 
ter days  gone  by,  I  was  able  unreservedly  to  pour 
out,  to  my  heart's  content,  all  that  burdened  it. 
To  my  mother,  to  that  ever-sympathetic  and  com- 
prehending woman,  so  clear-sighted  and  wide-vi- 
sioned  in  her  simple  modesty,  I  could  always  come 
in  past  years  when  my  thoughts  and  my  heart 
needed  the  kindly  and  soothing  hand  of  a  mother  to 
smooth  out  their  tangles  and  creases.  It  was  so 
when  I  was  a  child,  it  was  so  when  I  wore  my  lieu- 
tenant's uniform,  it  was  so  when  later  in  life  I  had 
duties  to  fulfil  in  responsible  positions;  and  that  it 
has  remained  so  to  this  day  has  been  proved  by 
those  few  short  hours  in  which,  after  the  first  shock 
of  reunion,  we  recovered  our  inward  equanimity. 
Scarcely  ever  before  had  I  felt  so  deeply  the  measure 
with  which  her  nature  and  her  blood  had  determined 
my  own. 

During  the  initial  period  of  my  service  in  the 


SOLDIER,  SPORTSMAN,  STUDENT     43 

First  Foot-Guards,  a  sorrowful  event  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1901  took  me  once  more  to  London, 
namely,  the  death  of  my  great-grandmother,  the 
aged  Queen  Victoria  of  England. 

Since  the  affair  in  St.  James's  Park,  in  which  my 
boyish  imagination  had  been  too  completely  capti- 
vated by  the  exotic  figures  around  her  for  me  to 
gain  anything  but  a  purely  superficial  idea  of  the 
Queen,  I  had  seen  her  twice.  Each  time  the  fea- 
tures of  her  character  impressed  themselves  more 
deeply  upon  me;  my  eyes  had  been  opened  to  the 
activities  of  this  remarkable  woman  who  maintained 
to  the  end  her  resolute  nature  and  strength  of  will. 

Now,  in  the  winter  of  1901,  I  was  to  do  her  the 
last  reverence. 

The  Queen  had  died  in  her  beautiful  castle  at 
Osborne  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  There  the  coffin  had 
been  placed  in  a  small  room  fitted  up  as  a  chapel. 
Over  it  was  spread  the  English  ensign,  and  six  of 
the  tallest  officers  of  the  Grenadier  Guards  kept 
watch  beside  it.  In  their  splendid  uniforms,  their 
bearskin-covered  heads  bowed  in  sorrow,  their  folded 
hands  resting  upon  their  sword-hilts,  they  guarded, 
immovable  as  bronze  knights,  the  last  sleep  of  their 
dead  sovereign. 

The  transport  of  the  dead  Queen  to  London  took 
place  on  board  the  "Victoria  and  Albert."  During 
the  entire  passage,  which  lasted  fully  three  hours, 
we  steamed  between  a  double  row  of  ships  of  the 


44    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

entire  British  navy  whose  guns  fired  once  more  their 
salutes  to  the  Queen. 

The  funeral  procession  through  the  streets  of  Lon- 
don was  most  impressive. 

A  moving  incident  occurred  at  Windsor  on  the 
way  from  Frogmore  Lodge  to  the  Mausoleum.  It 
was  a  bitter  winter  day;  and  the  train  which  brought 
the  mortal  remains  of  the  Queen  was  several  hours 
behind  time.  Just  as  the  procession  was  about  to 
start,  the  six  artillery  horses  of  the  hearse  began  to 
jib;  one  of  the  wheelers  kicked  over  the  pole;  the 
coffin  began  to  sway,  and  threatened  to  slip  from  its 
platform.  Prompt  and  brief  orders  were  at  once 
given  by  the  then  Prince  Louis  of  Battenberg  who 
was  in  command  of  the  naval  division  drawn  up  at 
the  spot.  The  horses  were  unharnessed,  and,  almost 
before  one  could  realize  what  had  happened,  three 
hundred  British  seamen  had  their  ropes  fixed  to  the 
hearse;  with  calm  tread  and  almost  inaudibly,  the 
dead  Queen's  sailors  drew  their  sovereign  to  her 
last  resting-place. 

In  the  spring  of  1901  the  period  of  my  lieuten- 
ancy came  to  an  end.  I  was  now  to  study,  and, 
like  my  father  before  me,  I  matriculated  at  Bonn 
University. 

The  four  semesters  spent  at  the  old  alma  mater 
were  for  me  two  delightful  and  fruitful  years,  re- 
plete with  serious  study  and  happy  student's  life 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,  STUDENT      45 

and  filled  with  all  the  enchantment  of  Rhenish 
charm  and  merriment. 

In  accordance  with  tradition  I  became  a  member 
of  the  Borussia  (Prussian)  Corps.  Nevertheless,  I 
was  not  simply  and  solely  a  "Bonner  Prussian"; 
on  the  contrary  and  rather  in  despite  of  the  strict 
forms  of  the  corps,  I  had  many  friends  in  other 
corps  of  the  "Bonner  S.  C." 

My  sport-loving  heart  led  me  to  share  with  great 
delight  in  the  fencing  practice  which  formed  the 
preparatory  training  for  duelling.  Fain  would  I  have 
taken  active  part  in  the  latter;  but,  as  an  officer, 
I  was  only  permitted  to  use  the  unmuffled  weapon 
in  serious  affairs  of  honor.  Comprehensible  as  this 
youthful  impulse  still  appears  to  me,  though  I  by  no 
means  wish  to  underrate  the  value  of  the  "scharfen 
mensur"  for  the  training  of  eye,  hand  and  nerve, 
I  believe,  nevertheless,  that  our  German  studentry 
exaggerated  its  value.  As  in  the  question  of  weap- 
ons, so,  too,  in  regard  to  drinking-bouts,  I  consider 
that  the  "  Trinkkomment "  (drinking  statutes) — for 
which  I  never  had  any  great  liking  and  to  which, 
as  a  student,  I  submitted  unwillingly — ^needs  to  be 
purged  of  many  formulae  that  have  developed  into 
abuses.  This,  moreover,  is  demanded  by  the  pres- 
sure of  present  circumstances.  Genuine  and  prac- 
tical love  for  the  German  Fatherland,  in  its  distress 
and  humiliation,  means  work,  and  work  and  work 
again;  it  means  this  especially  for  our  youth,  who. 


46    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

in  the  self-training  of  their  own  personalities,  are 
preparing  values  for  the  national  entity  on  which 
may  depend  the  fate  of  the  coming  generation. 

The  hours  of  my  delightful  Bonn  days  that 
were  not  occupied  in  study  or  in  corps  life  I  em- 
ployed in  intercourse  with  people  of  all  classes  in 
the  Rhineland.  I  accepted  gratefully  the  hospi- 
tality of  professors,  merchants  and  manufacturers 
in  whose  families  I  was  welcomed  with  genuine 
Rhenish  cordiality.  Having  hitherto  come  into 
touch  mainly  with  people  of  the  military  class, 
these  new  associations  provided  me  with  copious 
fresh  and  vivid  impressions  as  a  valuable  additional 
gain  to  the  intellectual  stimulus  of  the  university 
studies  proper.  To  these  studies  I  devoted  myself 
with  ardor,  and  I  often  think  with  gratitude  of  the 
prominent  men  who  acted  as  my  counsellors  and 
mentors,  such  men  as:  Zitelmann,  Litzmann,  Go- 
thein,  Betzold,  Schumacher,  Clemen  and  Anschiitz. 
With  special  indebtedness  I  recall  the  brilliant  lec- 
tures of  Zom,  the  famous  professor  of  constitutional 
law;  and  a  strong  bond  of  confidence  and  friendship 
still  unites  me  with  that  great  teacher. 

Out  of  my  intercourse  at  Bonn  with  intellectual 
leaders  in  the  fields  of  science,  technology,  industry 
and  politics,  there  arose  in  me  the  desire  henceforth 
to  occupy  myself  more  than  ever  before  with  the 
problems  of  our  home  and  foreign  policy  and  espe- 
cially with  matters  of  sociology. 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,  STUDENT      47 

Like  the  lieutenant's  period  of  my  life,  the  two 
sunny  years  at  Bonn  sped  rapidly  by.  They 
brought  me  an  abundance  of  delightful  and  valua- 
ble experiences:  the  enjoyment  of  nature  in  a  world 
full  of  beauty,  youthful  knowledge,  attachment  to 
select  and  clever  men,  Rhenish  joyousness  and  the 
germs  of  much  knowledge  that  ripened  later  into 
intellectual  possessions. 

Some  amount  of  travel,  undertaken  during  the 
vacations  (in  the  late  summer  of  1901  through 
England  and  Holland)  and,  with  my  brother  Eitel 
Fritz,  at  the  close  of  my  university  career,  also 
helped  to  widen  my  intellectual  vision.  The  im- 
pressions afforded  me  I  welcomed  with  an  awakened 
and  more  receptive  mind  than  ever  before. 

When  I  recall  those  travels,  two  figures  particu- 
larly stand  out  before  me  as  lifelike  and  undimmed 
as  though,  not  years,  but  only  days  or  at  most 
weeks  separated  me  from  them.  These  are  Abdul 
Hamid,  the  last  of  the  Sultans  of  the  old  regime, 
and  Pope  Leo  XI I L  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  these 
two  men,  who,  in  their  natures  and  in  their  world, 
differed  in  the  extreme  both  outwardly  and  in- 
wardly, are  inseparably  united  in  my  mind  by 
circumstances  from  which  I  can  scarcely  detach 
myself.  In  the  solemn  completeness  of  the  Vati- 
can, seemingly  so  untouched  by  haste  or  time,  and 
in  the  fairyland  of  the  Sultan's  court,  so  entirely 
outside  the  range  of  every  occidental  gauge  and  law. 


48    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

there  was  revealed  to  me  something  utterly  new 
and  unsuspected,  something  into  which  I  entered 
with  astonishment.  These  men — ^the  most  remark- 
able Pope  of  the  20th  century  (for  whose  spiritu- 
alized being  I  could  not,  for  a  moment,  feel  any- 
thing but  the  deepest  awe)  and  the  ruthless,  al- 
mighty Padishah  (in  whose  presence  I  quickly 
recovered  my  self-possession) — both  had  the  same 
expression  of  eye.  Penetrating,  clever,  infinitely 
pondering  and  experienced,  they  looked  at  you  with 
their  gray  eyes  in  which  age  had  drawn  sharply  de- 
fined white  rings  around  the  piercing  pupils. 

The  picture  that  awaited  my  brother  Eitel  Fritz 
and  me  as  we  arrived  at  Constantinople  on  board 
the  English  yacht  "Sapphire"  on  a  wonderful  spring 
morning,  was  absolutely  enchanting;  and  the  events 
of  the  few  days  during  which  we  were  guests  at 
the  Golden  Horn  augmented  the  impression  that 
we  were  dreaming  a  dream  out  of  the  "Arabian 
Nights." 

Shortly  after  our  arrival  in  the  harbor,  the  Sul- 
tan's favorite  son  came  to  welcome  us  in  the  name 
of  his  father;  and  towards  noon  the  Estrogul  Dra- 
goons— excellent-looking  troops  on  small  white 
Arabs — escorted  us  to  the  Yildiz  Kiosk,  where  the 
Sultan  received  us  at  the  head  of  his  General  Staff 
and  his  court  suite. 

Abdul  Hamid  was  an  exceptionally  fascinating 
personality — small,  bow-legged,  animated,  a  typical 


SOLDIER,  SPORTSMAN,  STUDENT     49 

Armenian  Semite.  He  was  exceedingly  friendly,  I 
might  almost  say  paternal,  towards  us. 

We  were  quartered  in  a  very  beautiful  Kiosk  of 
the  enormous  palace  buildings  of  the  Yildiz.  About 
half  an  hour  after  we  had  occupied  our  rooms,  the 
Sultan  came  to  pay  us  a  return  visit.  He  arrived 
in  a  little  basket-chaise,  driving  the  nimble  horses 
himself  and  followed  on  foot  by  his  entire  big  suite. 
This  included  many  elderly  stout  generals,  and  as 
the  Sultan  drove  at  a  trot  and  these  good  digni- 
taries were  determined  not  to  be  left  behind,  their 
appearance  when  they  got  to  the  palace  was  any- 
thing but  ravishing. 

The  rules  of  the  country  permitted  Abdul  Hamid 
to  speak  nothing  but  Turkish;  consequently,  our 
conversations  with  him  had  to  be  interpreted  sen- 
tence by  sentence  and  were  excessively  wearisome. 
Moreover,  the  old  gentleman  understood  our  French 
perfectly,  and  when  I  happened  to  tell  him  some 
humorous  anecdote  or  other,  it  was  most  amus- 
ing to  see  him  laughing  heartily  long  before  the 
dragoman,  with  the  solemnity  of  a  judge,  had  given 
him  the  translation. 

In  the  evening  a  banquet  was  to  be  given  in  our 
honor.  Where  this  was  to  take  place  no  one  knew 
at  first,  since  the  Sultan's  fear  of  would-be  assassins 
was  so  great  that  he  took  the  precaution  to  keep 
the  time  and  place  of  such  festivities  secret  as  long 
as  possible.   At  the  last  minute,  therefore,  and  much 


50    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

to  the  confusion  of  the  marshals  of  his  court,  he 
issued  the  command  for  the  dinner  to  be  given  in 
a  great  reception-room. 

The  Sultan  and  I  sat  at  the  head  of  an  intermi- 
nably long  table.  Every  one  else,  including  my  poor 
brother,  had  to  sit  sidewise  so  as  to  face  the 
Padishah;  there  was  not  much  chance  of  eating 
anything,  but  the  sight  of  the  Sultan  is  as  good  as 
meat  and  drink  to  a  believing  Mohammedan. 

It  struck  me  that  my  exalted  host  was  wearing 
a  very  thick  and  badly  fitting  uniform,  till  a  sudden 
movement  on  his  part  revealed  to  me  the  fact  that 
he  had  a  shirt  of  mail  concealed  underneath  it.  In 
conversation  he  evinced  great  interest  in  all  German 
affairs  and  proved  to  be  thoroughly  informed  on  the 
most  varied  subjects;  we  discussed  naval  problems, 
the  recent  results  of  Polar  research,  the  latest  pub- 
lications on  the  German  book  market  and,  above 
all,  military  questions. 

The  days  that  followed  were  no  less  interesting 
than  the  first.  We  visited  the  sights  of  the  city  and 
its  environs,  and  the  old  gentleman  displayed  a 
touching  care  for  our  welfare. 

On  the  last  day  of  our  sojourn  he  invited  us  to  a 
private  dinner  in  his  own  apartments.  The  only 
other  people  present  were  my  attendants,  the  Ger- 
man ambassador  and  the  Sultan's  favorite  son.  The 
Sultan,  who  was  very  fond  of  music,  had  asked  me 
to  play  him  something  on  the  violin.    The  Prince 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,  STUDENT      51 

accompanied  me  on  the  piano,  and  we  played  an 
air  from  "Cavalleria  Rusticana,"  a  cavatina  by- 
Raff  and  Schumann's  "Traumerei."  Then  there 
followed  an  affecting  incident.  As  a  surprise  for  the 
old  gentleman,  I  had  practised  the  Turkish  National 
Anthem  with  my  army  doctor,  Oberstabsarzt  Wide- 
mann;  and  as  soon  as  we  had  finished  playing  it, 
the  Sultan,  who  seemed  to  be  deeply  moved,  flung 
his  arms  about  me;  then,  at  a  sign  from  him,  an 
adjutant  appeared  with  a  cushion  on  which  lay  the 
gold  and  silver  medal  for  arts  and  sciences,  and  this 
the  ruler  of  all  the  Ottomans  pinned  to  my  breast. 
Then  he  showed  us  his  private  museum  containing 
all  the  presents  received  by  him  and  his  ancestors 
from  other  European  Princes.  Here,  among  a  great 
quantity  of  trash,  were  grouped  a  number  of  beau- 
tiful and  valuable  articles.  Thus,  I  recall  an  amber 
cupboard  presented  by  Frederick  William  I. 

This  meeting  with  old  Abdul  Hamid  has  remained 
for  me  one  of  the  most  interesting  encounters  that 
I  have  ever  had  with  foreign  Princes. 

In  my  twenty-second  year,  I  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  2d  Company  of  the  First  Foot- 
Guards.  The  amplitude  of  work  involved  by  this 
responsible  position  for  the  next  two  and  a  half  years 
brought  me  the  greatest  satisfaction.  That  I  was 
intrusted  with  this  particular  company  filled  me  with 
peculiar  pleasure,  as  I  had  become  acquainted  with 


52    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

all  my  non-commissioned  officers  when  a  lieutenant. 
The  heads  of  companies,  squadrons  and  batteries 
form,  in  conjunction  with  the  regimental  com- 
manders, the  backbone  of  the  army,  inasmuch  as, 
within  the  scope  of  their  duties,  the  value  of  the 
individual  as  leader  and  trainer  has  a  chance  of 
making  itself  felt.  But  not  much  inferior  to  the 
personal  importance  of  the  head  of  the  company 
must  be  ranked  the  personality  of  the  sergeant- 
major,  significantly  dubbed  in  Germany  the  "com- 
pany's mother."  My  own  sergeant-major,  Wergin, 
was  a  devoted  and  conscientious  man  who  set  an 
example  to  all  in  the  company.  Early  and  late  his 
thoughts  were  occupied  with  the  Royal  Prussian 
service  and  he  was,  at  the  same  time,  continually 
busied  about  the  welfare  of  his  hundred  and  twenty 
grenadiers. 

In  themselves  the  labors  which  fell  to  us  captains 
in  the  First  Foot-Guards  were  light  and  gratifying. 
The  corps  of  non-commissioned  officers  was  complete 
and  consisted  throughout  of  thoroughly  efficient 
men;  while  the  recruits  of  each  year  were  excellent, 
all  of  them  being  well-educated  young  fellows  and 
representing,  in  many  cases,  the  fourth  generation 
of  service  with  the  regiment  or  even  with  the  same 
company.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  certain 
difficulty  in  the  bodily  dimensions  of  the  men.  The 
height  of  many  of  them  was  altogether  out  of  pro- 
portion to  their  breadth,  and  it  was  necessary  to 


SOLDIER,  SPORTSMAN,  STUDENT     53 

exercise  great  care  lest  they  should,  at  the  outset, 
be  subjected  to  overexertion.  Furthermore,  my  tall 
grenadiers  could  eat  an  incredible  quantity  of  food ! 
With  my  company  and  with  the  troops  afterwards 
intrusted  to  me,  I  laid  great  stress  upon  smartness 
and  discipline.  Our  combined  movements  and  our 
drill  as  a  whole  were  worth  seeing,  and  the  grena- 
diers themselves  were  proud  of  their  unimpeach- 
able form. 

My  general  principles  were:  short  but  very  ener- 
getic spells  of  duty;  for  the  rest,  leave  the  men  as 
much  as  possible  unmolested;  plenty  of  furlough, 
merriment  in  the  barracks,  excursions,  visits  to  the 
sights  of  the  town  and  its  surroundings,  occasional 
attendance  at  theatres,  a  minimum  of  disciplinary 
punishments.  My  men  soon  knew  that,  when  he 
had  to  punish  them,  their  captain  suffered  more 
than  they  did  themselves.  I  endeavored  to  work 
upon  their  sense  of  honor,  and  that  was  nearly  al- 
ways effective. 

Of  course,  in  the  foregoing,  the  duties  and  labors 
of  a  company's  captain  are  anything  but  exhausted. 
Apart  from  all  questions  of  military  service,  he  must 
be  a  true  father  to  his  soldiers;  he  must  know  each 
individual  and  know  where  the  shoe  pinches  in  every 
particular  case.  Just  this  phase  of  the  officer's  call- 
ing gave  me  the  greatest  pleasure,  and  its  exercise 
gained  for  me  the  confidence  and  the  attachment  of 
every  one  of  my  grenadiers.    They  came  to  me  with 


54    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

their  troubles  both  small  and  great,  and  I  felt  my- 
self happy  in  their  firm  and  honest  confidingness. 
Some  fine,  charming  young  fellows  have  passed  thus 
through  my  hands.  Many  a  one  I  met  again  after- 
wards in  the  war;  many  a  one  now  rests  in  foreign 
soil,  true  to  the  motto  on  the  helmet  of  our  first 
battalion:  Semper  talis. 

Despite  this  passionate  and  devoted  attention  to 
my  duties  with  the  First  Foot-Guards,  in  which 
regiment  I  made  closer  acquaintance  with  my  two 
former  adjutants  and  future  lords  in  waiting — the 
conscientious  Stiilpnagel  and  the  faithful  Behr — I 
was  not  purely  and  solely  a  soldier  during  those 
years.  The  Bonn  impetus  continued  active,  and 
the  living  questions  of  politics,  economics,  art  and 
technical  science  occupied  even  more  of  my  leisure 
time  than  in  the  years  which  had  opened  my  eyes 
to  their  importance. 

Whereas,  in  the  year  of  my  lieutenancy,  I  had 
joined  with  a  certain  interest  and  curiosity  in  all  the 
court  festivities  that  came  in  my  way,  an  ever- 
increasing  dislike  for  the  pomp  of  these  affairs 
began  to  develop  within  me  as  my  judgment  ma- 
tured. The  much  too  frequently  repeated  cere- 
monial, maintained  as  it  was  here  in  rigid  form, 
appeared  to  me  often  enough  to  be  an  empty  and 
almost  painful  anachronism.  How  many  deeply 
reproachful  or  gently  admonitory  glances  have  I  not 
received  from  the  eyes  of  court  marshals  whose 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,   STUDENT     55 

holiest  feelings  I  had  wounded !  But  here,  as  in  so 
many  other  spheres,  the  exaggeration  of  the  circum- 
scribed, the  "exalted,"  the  congealed,  had  impelled 
me  to  a  noticeable  nonchalance — not  by  any  means 
always  intentional,  often  enough  involuntary  and  as 
though  a  reaction  was  bound  to  take  place  of  its 
own  accord. 

Court  festivities !  Thinking  of  them  reminds  me 
of  a  man  for  whom,  and  for  whose  art,  I  always  cher- 
ished the  greatest  veneration  and  the  sight  of  whom 
on  these  occasions  invariably  filled  me  with  plea- 
sure and  brought  a  smile  to  my  lips.  It  was  Adolf 
Menzel.  His  appearance  was  generally  preceded  by 
a  tragi-comedy  in  his  home  and  on  the  way  to  the 
palace,  since  he  was  so  deeply  absorbed  in  his  work 
till  the  last  moment  that  no  amount  of  subsequent 
haste  in  dressing  could  enable  him  to  arrive  in  time. 
In  his  later  years  an  adjutant  of  my  father's  was 
always  sent  to  fetch  him,  and  this  messenger  often 
enough  had  to  help  in  getting  him  dressed.  But  it 
was  all  to  no  purpose;  he  still  came  late. 

Indelibly  imprinted  in  my  memory  is  Menzel  as 
I  saw  him  at  the  celebration  of  the  Order  of  the 
Black  Eagle.  On  this  occasion,  the  knights  wear 
the  big  red-velvet  robes  and  the  chain  of  this  high 
order.  The  little  man,  whom  none  of  the  robes 
would  fit,  struggled  wildly  the  whole  time  with  his 
train,  at  which  he  kept  looking  daggers  from  his 
spectacled,  but  expressively  flashing  eyes. 


56    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

At  the  close  of  the  ceremony,  it  was  customary 
for  the  knights  to  defile,  two  by  two,  before  the 
throne,  to  make  their  obeisance  to  the  Kaiser  and 
to  leave  the  chamber.  According  to  the  order  of 
rank,  it  always  happened  that  the  dwarfish  Menzel 
was  accompanied  by  the  abnormally  tall  haus- 
minister,  von  Wedel.  When  this  ill-matched  couple 
stood  before  the  throne,  the  sight  was  in  itself  suffi- 
cient to  fill  one  with  a  warm  sense  of  amusement. 
But  when,  at  the  same  time,  the  artist  was  aroused 
in  Menzel's  bosom,  it  was  difficult  to  restrain  one's 
hilarity.  Menzel  seemed  to  forget  altogether  where 
he  was,  and  I  have  seen  him,  entirely  captivated  by 
the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene  before  him,  give 
his  head  a  sudden  jerk,  set  his  arms  akimbo  and 
stare  long  and  fixedly  at  my  father. — ^Meantime  old 
Wedel  had  delivered  his  correct  court  bow  and  was 
marching  off,  when,  to  his  horror,  he  noticed,  his 
partner  still  planted  before  the  throne. 

I  don't  know  which  delighted  me  more  at  that 
moment,  whether  the  perplexed  and  dismayed  face 
of  the  hausminister,  who  felt  himself  implicated  in 
an  unheard  of  breach  of  traditional  etiquette,  or 
the  little  genius  who,  turning  his  head  first  one  way 
then  the  other,  gazed  at  the  Kaiser,  heedless  of 
those  waiting  impatiently  behind  him  for  the  space 
in  front  of  the  throne.  In  the  end,  Wedel  took 
courage  and  plucked  Menzel  by  the  sleeve.  This 
interruption  greatly  annoyed  the  seemingly  very 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,   STUDENT      57 

choleric  master  of  the  brush.  If  a  look  can  foam 
with  rage,  it  was  the  one  which,  with  head  thrown 
back,  Menzel  flung  up  into  the  eyes  of  his  tall  com- 
panion. Then,  gathering  up  the  skirts  of  his  robe, 
he  stumbled  angry  and  offended  out  of  the  room. 
It  was  as  though  he  seemed  to  be  saying  to  himself: 
"Bah!  What  a  gathering,  where  one  may  not 
even  look  at  people  for  a  bit." 

Time  and  again  have  I  stood  and  chatted  with 
him  at  such  court  ceremonies.  He  was  full  of  dry 
humor,  sarcasm  and  criticism.  Nothing  escaped  his 
notice;  and  since,  little  by  little,  people  had  ceased 
to  expect  from  him  a  strict  subordination  to  rules, 
he  had  come  to  regard  himself  as  a  species  of  supe- 
rior outsider  and  perhaps  felt  fairly  happy  in  the 
exceptional  position  which  certainly  provided  him 
with  many  an  artistic  suggestion. 

For  my  part,  as  already  stated,  these  festivities, 
in  which  every  one  made  a  show  of  his  own  vain- 
glory, soon  lost  all  attraction  for  me.  Their  rigid 
mechanical  nature  became  dreary;  their  stiff  pomp 
was  like  a  mosaic  made  up  of  a  thousand  petty 
vanities  set  in  consequentialism  of  every  shade.  I 
perfectly  well  recognized  that  ceremonial  festivities 
necessitated  a  certain  formality;  but  it  appeared  to 
me  that  they  ought  also  to  be  animated  by  an  in- 
nate freedom,  and  of  this  there  was  scarcely  a  trace 
perceptible. 

In  free  and  unconstrained  intercourse  with  capa- 


58    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

ble  men  of  every  category,  with  artists,  authors, 
sportsmen,  merchants,  and  manufacturers,  I  found 
greater  stimulus  than  in  these  courtly  shows. 
Moreover,  as  a  lover  of  sport  and  the  chase,  I  gave 
my  physical  frame  its  due  share  in  cheerful  exer- 
tion. 

Withal,  I  felt  the  vexation  of  having  continually 
to  take  into  consideration  my  position  as  Prince. 
In  everything  that  I  undertook,  I  was  surrounded 
by  people  who — ^with  the  best  intentions,  no  doubt, 
but  much  to  my  annoyance — rehearsed,  again  and 
again,  their  two  little  maxims:  "Your  Imperial 
Highness  must  not  do  that"  and  "Your  Imperial 
Highness  must  now  do  this."  Any  attempt  to  re- 
pulse these  admonitions  or  to  introduce  the  freedom 
of  action  of  a  free  being  into  this  fusty  formalism 
met  with  a  total  lack  of  imderstanding.  It  was, 
therefore,  best  to  let  people  talk  and  to  do  what 
seemed  most  simple  and  natural. 

Only  one  person  showed  any  sympathy  with  my 
opposition  or  any  comprehension  of  my  desire  to 
be  a  little  less  "Crown  Prince"  and  a  little  more  of 
a  contemporary  human  being.  It  was  my  dear 
mother.  Ever  and  again,  when  I  sat  talking  with 
her  on  such  matters,  I  felt  how  much  of  her  nature 
she  had  passed  on  to  me — only  that  what  in  my 
blood  offered  masculine  resistance  had  ultimately 
accommodated  itself  and  quieted  down  in  her.  For 
this  self-resignation  she  undoubtedly  drew  never- 


SOLDIER,   SPORTSMAN,   STUDENT      59 

failing  energy  from  the  deep  religiousness  of  her 
nature. 

To  the  strictly  religious  character  of  her  ethical 
views  is  also  to  be  attributed  her  urgent  desire  that 
we,  her  sons,  should  enter  wedlock  "pure,"  and  un- 
touched by  experiences  with  other  women.  With 
this  object  in  view,  she  and  those  around  us  whom 
she  had  instructed  endeavored  to  keep  us,  as  far  as 
practicable,  aloof  from  any  one  and  every  one  who 
might  possibly  lead  us  astray  from  the  straight 
paths  of  virtue.  Undoubtedly  my  mother,  in  her 
thoughts  and  purposes,  was  inspired  by  the  best 
intentions  in  regard  to  us  and  to  our  moral  and 
physical  welfare;  and,  whatever  nonsense  may  have 
been  early  circulated  about  me,  I,  at  any  rate, 
cannot  have  greatly  disappointed  her. 


CHAPTER  III 
MATRIMONIAL  AND  POST-MATRIMONIAL 

June,  1919. 

Wrote  letters  first  thing.  Then,  after  breakfast, 
two  hours  at  the  anvil  in  the  smithy.  Luijt  told  me 
that  an  American  had  offered  twenty-five  guilders 
for  a  horseshoe  that  I  had  forged.  Might  he  give 
him  one?  These  people  are,  after  all,  incorrigibly 
ready  to  inspire  the  likes  of  us  with  megalomania — 
even  when  we  sit  on  a  grassy  island  far  from  their 
madding  crowd.  At  one  time  they  used  to  pick  up 
my  cigarette-ends;  and  now,  for  a  piece  of  iron  that 
has  been  under  my  hammer,  a  snob  offers  a  sum 
that  would  help  a  poor  man  out  of  his  misery  in  the 
old  homeland.  It  is  not  surprising  to  me  that  many 
a  one,  under  the  influence  of  this  cult,  has  become 
what  he  is !    No,  we  are  not  always  the  sole  culprits ! 

I  left  Luijt  and  went  down  to  the  sea,  stripped 
and  plunged  in.  How  that  washes  the  wretched- 
ness out  of  you  for  a  while  and  makes  you  forget  the 
whole  thing ! 

About  noon,  I  told  my  dear  Kummer,  who  has 
been  with  me  for  some  time,  the  story  of  the  Ameri- 
can. He  is  on  fire  with  enthusiasm !  "Twenty-five 
guilders,  at  the  present  rate  of  exchange !    I'd  keep 

on  making  horseshoes  for  them  the  whole  day." 

60 


MATRIMONIAL  61 

After  dinner,  looked  through  the  old  notes  of  the 
battles  at  Verdun  and  worked  at  the  subject  for  the 
book.    Took  a  walk  with  Kummer. 

And  now  it  is  evening  again. 

Another  day  passed.    How  long  will  it  be  now? 

On  a  beautiful  and  memorable  summer's  day  of 
the  year  1904,  in  fir-encircled  Gelbensande,  the  seat 
of  the  Dowager  Grand  Duchess  Anastasia  Michail- 
ovna  of  Mecklenburg,  I  was  betrothed  to  Cecilie, 
Duchess  of  Mecklenburg.  Not  quite  eighteen  years 
of  age,  she  was  in  the  first  blush  of  youth  and  full  of 
gaiety  and  joyousness.  The  years  of  her  childhood, 
in  the  society  of  her  somewhat  self-willed  but  loving 
and  beautiful  mother,  had  been  replete  with  serene 
happiness. 

On  a  bright  June  day  of  the  following  year,  my 
beautiful  young  bride  gave  me  her  hand  for  life. 
She  entered  Berlin  on  roses;  she  was  received  by  the 
welcoming  shouts  of  many  thousands;  she  started 
upon  her  new  career  upborne  by  the  love  and  sym- 
pathy of  a  whole  people.  And  as,  on  that  day,  I 
rode  down  the  Linden  with  my  2d  Company  to 
form  the  guard  of  honor,  the  warm-hearted  partici- 
pation of  all  that  great  throng  touched  me  very 
deeply.  Moreover,  the  city  and  the  happy  faces, 
the  many  pretty  lasses  and  the  roses  all  over  the 
place  presented  an  unforgetable  picture.    My  gren- 


62    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

adiers  naturally  felt  that  they  quite  belonged  to  the 
family  and  strode  along  smartly. 

A  kind  destiny  permitted  my  choice  to  be  free 
from  all  political  or  dynastic  considerations.  It  fell 
upon  her  to  whom  my  heart  went  out  and  who  gave 
me  her  hand  as  freely  and  whole-heartedly  in  return. 
Our  union  was  the  outcome  of  genuine  and  sincere 
affection. 

Shall  I  take  any  notice  of  all  the  nonsense  that 
has  been  talked  and  written  concerning  my  wedded 
life?  If  the  good  people  who  have  such  "brilliant 
connections"  and  consequently  such  ** intimate  in- 
sight" and  "reliable  information"  would  but  be  a 
little  less  self-important.  I  can  say  this:  whenever 
the  newspapers  printed  such  things  as  "The  Divorce 
of  the  Crown  Prince  Imminent,"  my  wife  and  I  had 
a  good  laugh  over  the  matter.  What  a  craving  for 
sensation  possesses  the  public ! 

I  can  only  thank  my  wife  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart  for  having  been  to  me  the  best  and  most  faith- 
ful friend  and  companion,  a  tender  helpmate  and 
mother,  forbearing  and  forgiving  in  regard  to  many 
a  fault,  full  of  comprehension  for  what  I  am,  hold- 
ing to  me  unswervingly  in  fortune  and  in  distress. 

She  has  presented  me  with  six  healthy  and  dear 
children  whom  I  am  proud  of  with  all  my  heart  and 
for  whom  I  feel  a  longing  as  often  as  I  stroke  the 
head  of  one  of  these  flaxen-haired  little  fisher  lads 
here.    May  my  four  boys  some  day  be  brave  Ger- 


< 

2: 
w 
Pi 
O 

W   fa 


MATRIMONIAL  63 

man  men,  doing  their  duty  to  their  country  as  true 
Hohenzollems ! 

During  the  time  of  severe  torment  that  followed 
Germany's  downfall,  my  wife  stuck  to  her  post  with 
exemplary  faithfulness  and  bravery  and,  in  a  hun- 
dred difficult  situations,  proved  herself  to  possess 
that  strong,  noble  nature  for  which  I  love  and  revere 
her. 

After  all  "war"  has  entered  our  married  life! 

In  1915,  the  Crown  Princess  paid  me  a  two-days' 
visit  in  my  headquarters  at  Stenay.  At  4  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  there  began  a 
French  air  attack  manifestly  aimed  full  at  my  house 
which,  at  that  time,  had  no  bomb-proof  cellar  or 
dugout.  A  direct  hit  would  undoubtedly  have 
meant  thorough  work.  The  attack  lasted  two  hours. 
In  that  time,  twenty-four  aeroplanes  dropped  bombs 
around  us  and  a  hundred  and  sixty  bombs  were 
counted.  Several  of  them  landed  only  a  few  yards 
from  the  house  and,  unfortunately,  claimed  a  num- 
ber of  victims.  It  was  the  severest  air  attack  that  I 
had  ever  experienced,  and  was  a  test  to  the  nerves 
in  which  my  wife  showed  the  greatest  courage  and 
calmness.  The  way  in  which  she  stood  the  strain 
was  magnificent. 

Following  upon  my  captaincy  in  the  First  Foot- 
Guards,  I  was  now  to  be  appointed  to  the  command 
of  a  squadron.    Through  the  mediation  of  his  Excel- 


64    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

lency,  von  Hiilsen,  I  requested  His  Majesty  to  in- 
trust me  with  a  squadron  of  the  Gardes  du  Corps. 
At  first,  His  Majesty  wished  to  appoint  me  to  the 
Hussars.  Ultimately,  he  gave  way  and  placed  me, 
in  January,  1906,  at  the  head  of  the  body  squadron 
of  the  Gardes  du  Corps,  though,  instead  of  the 
handsome  uniform  of  that  regiment,  he  ordered  me, 
by  special  decree,  to  wear  the  uniform  of  the  Queen's 
Cuirassiers. 

In  this  new  position,  my  love  of  horsec  found 
once  more  a  wide  field  of  activity,  and  I  look  back 
with  great  satisfaction  to  the  delightful  period  dur- 
ing which  I  was  attached  to  this  proud  regiment 
whose  glorious  traditions  are  so  intimately  bound  up 
with  the  history  of  the  Brandenburg-Prussian  state. 
That  it  was  no  mere  parade  troop  was  proved  at 
Zomdorf  and  again  in  the  gigantic  struggle  of  the 
world  war.  It  was  a  bitter-sweet  joy  to  me  to  re- 
ceive, only  a  few  days  ago,  a  loving  sign  that  the  old 
and  well-tried  members  of  the  body  squadron  had 
not  forgotten  their  former  leader  in  his  present 
misfortune:  on  my  birthday.  May  6,  a  small  album 
containing  the  signatures  of  the  officers  and  gardes 
du  corps  of  the  old  squadron  found  its  way  to  my 
quiet  island. — Of  the  officers  and  of  the  gardes  du 
corps  1 — How  many  names  are  wanting !  East  and 
west  repose  those  whose  names  are  not  in  the  album. 
My  thoughts  wander  in  both  directions  to  greet  the 
brave  dead. 

Here,  although  it  belongs  to  a  later  period,  I 


MATRIMONIAL  65 

would  say  a  word  about  my  appointment  to  the 
third  military  weapon — the  artillery.  To  render  me 
familiar  with  it,  I  was  appointed,  in  the  spring  of 
1909,  to  the  command  of  the  Leibbatterie  of  the 
First  Field  Artillery.  I  felt  particularly  happy  in 
this  excellent  regiment — excellent  both  from  a  mili- 
tary standpoint  and  in  its  comradeship;  and  I  recall 
with  sincere  gratitude  the  assistance  given  me  by 
my  faithful  mentor.  Major  the  Count  Hopfgarten, 
and  his  manifold  suggestions  in  matters  relating  to 
artillery. 

Even  at  that  time,  the  mode  of  employing  our 
field  artillery  and,  to  some  extent,  also,  our  mode 
of  firing  struck  me,  in  some  points,  as  out-of-date 
when  compared  with  French  regulations.  About 
five  years  later,  the  experiences  of  the  war  demon- 
strated that  the  French  army  really  had  gained  a 
start  of  us  in  the  development  of  this  weapon. 
With  us  the  technology  of  artillery  had  dropped  be- 
hind the  equestrology;  the  horse  had  obtained  too 
many  privileges  over  the  cannon. 

As  personal  adjutant,  I  asked  and  obtained  the 
services  of  Captain  von  der  Planitz.  This  excellent 
and  well-trained  officer,  whom  I  shall  ever  grate- 
fully remember  as  a  sincere  and  noble  man  and  as 
my  long-standing  and  trusted  companion  and  coun- 
sellor, fell  as  commander  of  a  division  in  Flanders. 

A  report  is  being  circulated  by  the  newspapers 
which  purports  to  come  from  an  eye-witness  of  the 


66    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

murder  of  Tsar  Nicholas  and  to  reveal,  in  all  its 
horrors,  his  bloody  end. 

This  description,  whose  ghastliness  is  only  en- 
hanced by  its  cold  objectivity,  I  read  this  morning. 
Ever  since,  as  the  rain  outside  has  continued  to 
pour  down  ceaselessly,  my  thoughts  have  reverted 
again  and  again  to  this  poor  man — to  him  and  those 
around  him  on  the  two  occasions  that  I  came  into 
closer  contact  with  him, — first,  as  his  guest  in  Rus- 
sia and,  afterwards,  on  the  one  occasion  that  he  was 
our  guest  in  Berlin. 

Now,  as  I  write  these  lines  in  recollection  of  him, 
it  is  night. 

When  I  first  met  Tsar  Nicholas  at  St.  Petersburg 
in  January,  1903,  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  power. 
I  had  been  despatched  to  take  part  in  the  Bene- 
diction of  the  Waters.  The  court  and  the  troops 
formed  an  exceptionally  brilliant  framework  to  the 
celebration.  But  the  Tsar,  himself,  who  was  at 
bottom  a  simple  and  homely  person  and  most  cor- 
dial and  unconstrained  in  intimate  circles,  appeared 
irresolute,  I  might  almost  say  timid,  in  his  public 
capacity.  The  ravishingly  beautiful  Empress  Alex- 
andra was,  in  such  matters,  no  support  for  him, 
since  she  herself  was  painfully  bashful,  indeed  al- 
most shy.  In  complete  contrast  to  her,  the  Dowager 
Empress,  Maria  Feodorovna,  embodied  perfectly  the 
conception  of  majesty  and  of  the  grande  dame,  and 
she  exercised  also  the  chief  influence  in  the  political 


MATRIMONIAL  67 

and  court  circles  of  St.  Petersburg.  It  was  par- 
ticularly noticeable  how  little  the  Tsar  understood 
how  to  ensure  the  prestige  due  to  him  from  the 
members  of  his  family,  /.  e.,  from  the  Grand  Dukes 
and  Grand  Duchesses.  When,  for  instance,  the 
company  had  met  previous  to  a  dinner,  and  the 
Imperial  couple  entered,  scarcely  a  member  of  the 
family  took  any  notice  of  it.  An  absolutely  pro- 
voking laxity  was  displayed  on  such  occasions  by 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholai  Nicholaievitch,  who,  by 
the  way,  did  not  hesitate,  in  conversation  with  me, 
to  give  fairly  pointed  expression  to  his  dislike  of 
everything  German.  In  vain  did  I  look  for  traces, 
in  St.  Petersburg,  of  the  old  friendship  between 
Prussia  and  Russia;  English  and  French  were  the 
linguistic  mediums;  for  Germany  no  one  had  any 
interest;  more  often  than  not  I  even  came  across 
open  repugnance.  Only  two  men  did  I  meet  with 
who  manifested  any  marked  liking  for  Germany, 
namely.  Baron  Fredericks  and  Sergei  Julivitch 
Witte,  who,  a  few  years  later,  was  made  a  count. 
With  Witte  I  had  a  long  talk  upon  the  question  of 
a  new  Russo-German  treaty  of  commerce,  in  the 
course  of  which  the  politician,  with  his  far-sighted 
views  of  finance  and  political  economy,  maintained 
emphatically  that,  in  his  opinion,  the  healthy  devel- 
opment of  Russia  depended  closely  upon  her  pro- 
ceeding economically  hand  in  hand  with  Germany. 
The  fear  of  assassins  was  very  great  at  the  court. 


68    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Among  the  many  precautionary  and  preventive 
measures  which  I  saw  taken  everywhere,  one  that  I 
met  with  on  paying  the  Tsar  a  late  evening  visit 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  me.  In  the  vestibule 
of  his  private  apartments,  the  Emperor's  entire 
body-guard  of  about  one  hundred  men  were  posted 
like  the  pieces  on  a  chess-board.  It  was  impossible 
for  any  one  to  pass;  and  my  entrance  created  the 
greatest  alarm  and  excitement. 

Within  the  inner  circle  of  his  family,  the  Emperor 
was  an  utterly  changed  being.  He  was  a  happy, 
harmless,  amiable  man,  tenderly  attached  to  his 
wife  and  children.  From  the  Empress,  too,  disap- 
peared that  nervousness  and  restlessness  which  took 
possession  of  her  in  public,  she  became  a  lovable, 
warm-hearted  woman  and,  surrounded  by  her  young 
and  well-bred  daughters,  she  presented  a  picture  of 
grace  and  beauty.  I  spent  some  delightful  hours 
there. 

On  the  second  occasion,  my  wife  and  I  were  in- 
vited to  Zarskoe  Selo.  Here  I  might  have  imagined 
myself  on  the  country  estate  of  some  wealthy  pri- 
vate magnate,  but  that,  at  every  step,  the  police 
and  military  precautions  reminded  me  that  I  was 
the  guest  of  a  ruler  who  did  not  trust  his  own  peo- 
ple. Zarskoe  stands  in  a  great  park.  Outside  the 
palings  was  drawn  up  a  cordon  of  cossacks  who 
trotted  up  and  down  night  and  day  to  keep  watch. 
Within  the  park  stood  innumerable  sentinels,  while 


MATRIMONIAL  69 

inside  the  palace  one  saw  everywhere  sentinels  in 
couples  with  fixed  bayonets.  I  said  to  my  wife 
at  the  time  that  it  made  you  feel  as  though  you 
were  in  a  prison,  and  that  I  would  rather  risk  being 
bombed  than  live  permanently  such  a  life  as  that. 

A  distressing  motor  drive  still  remains  vivid  in 
my  memory.  The  Tsar  wanted  to  show  us  the 
palace  on  the  lake  side.  We  started  off  in  a  closed 
carriage.  It  was  the  first  time,  for  months,  that 
the  Emperor  had  left  Zarskoe.  The  drive  lasted 
about  four  hours.  The  impression  was  cheerless 
and  deeply  depressing.  Every  place  we  passed 
through  seemed  dead;  no  one  was  permitted  to  show 
himself  in  the  streets  or  at  the  windows — save,  of 
course,  soldiers  and  policemen.  Weird  silence  and 
oppressive  anxiety  hung  over  everybody  and  every- 
thing. To  be  forced  to  conceal  oneself  like  that! 
Eh,  it  was  a  life  not  worth  living. 

We  also  took  part  in  a  great  military  review. 
The  guards  looked  brilliant;  and,  true  to  their  an- 
cient tradition,  they  later  on  fought  brilliantly  in 
the  war.  An  uncommonly  picturesque  impression 
was  made  by  the  bold-looking  Don,  Ural  and  Trans- 
baikal  cossacks  on  their  small,  scrubby  horses. 

The  reception  in  the  family  circle  was  as  hearty 
as  on  my  first  visit.  For  hours  we  canoed  about 
the  canals,  and  discussed  exhaustively  many  a 
political  problem.  These  talks  convinced  me  that 
the  Tsar  cherished  sincere  sympathy  for  Germany, 


70    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

but  was  too  weak  to  combat  effectually  the  influ- 
ence of  the  great  anti-German  party;  the  Dowager 
Empress  and  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholai — both  pro- 
nounced opponents  of  Germany — ^possessed  the  up- 
per hand. 

Tsar  Nicholas  was  not,  in  my  judgment,  the  per- 
sonality that  Russia  needed  on  the  throne.  He 
lacked  resolution  and  courage  and  was  out  of  touch 
with  his  people.  As  a  simple,  country  gentleman, 
he  might  perhaps  have  been  happy  and  have  had 
many  friends;  but  he  did  not  possess  the  qualities 
essential  to  lead  a  nation  in  the  development  of  its 
capacities;  possibly,  indeed,  his  timid  mind  scarcely 
dared  to  reflect  upon  the  merest  shadow  of  such 
qualities. 

Deeply  tragical  appeared  to  us,  even  at  that  time, 
the  weakly  and  continually  ailing  little  heir-ap- 
parent, Alexis  Nicholaievitch.  Though  already  nine 
years  old,  he  was  usually  carried  about  like  a  little 
wounded  creature  by  a  giant  of  a  sailor.  With 
anxious  and  trembling  tenderness,  the  parents  clung 
to  this  fragile  offspring  of  the  later  years  of  their 
wedlock  who  was  expected  some  day  to  wear  the 
Imperial  crown  of  Russia. 

All  over!  Gone  in  blood  and  horror  this  little 
wearily  flickering  life. 

After  I  had  completed  another  two  and  a  half 
years  of  military  service,  I  felt  a  lively  desire  to 
fill  in  the  very  considerable  gaps  in  my  knowledge 


MATRIMONIAL  71 

of  political  and  economic  affairs.  Wishes  repeatedly 
expressed  by  me  in  the  matter  had  hitherto  been 
disregarded,  which  was  the  more  remarkable  as,  in 
the  history  of  our  house,  the  ruler  for  the  time  being 
had  always  treated  the  due  preparation  of  the  heir- 
apparent  for  his  future  career  as  a  particularly  ur- 
gent duty  of  the  office  conferred  upon  him.  Con- 
sequently, I  felt  myself  ill  used  in  being  thus  denied 
the  opportunity  to  grasp  and  fathom  subjects  whose 
mastery  was  essential  for  me.  Without  exaggera- 
tion, I  can  say  that  I  had  to  wrestle  tenaciously 
and  uncompromisingly  for  admission  to  an  environ- 
ment in  which  I  might  acquire  this  indispensable 
knowledge. 

It  was  therefore  with  all  the  greater  satisfaction 
that,  in  October,  1907,  I  welcomed  the  Kaiser's 
finally  consenting  to  attach  me  to  the  bureau  of  the 
Lord  Lieutenant  at  Potsdam,  to  the  Home  Office, 
to  the  Exchequer  and  to  the  Admiralty.  I  was, 
however,  to  wait  a  while  before  being  initiated  into 
questions  of  foreign  policy;  these  were  treated  as 
a  trifle  mysterious — and  as  though  they  lay  within 
the  sphere  of  some  occult  art.  For  the  present, 
therefore,  I  was  to  have  the  opportunity  of  attend- 
ing lectures  on  machine  construction  and  electro- 
technics  at  the  University  of  Technology  in  Char- 
lottenburg,  where  I  might  acquire  a  more  extensive 
acquaintance  with  these  subjects  which  had  always 
aroused  my  peculiar  interest. 

Thus  the  obstacles  that  bad  heretofore  stood  in 


72    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

my  way  were  now  removed;  doors  which  had  been 
kept  religiously  closed  to  me  at  last  opened  to  my 
hankering  for  knowledge. 

My  self-instructive  activities  in  the  various  minis- 
tries— which  were  greatly  facilitated  by  my  father's 
orders  to  supply  me  with  every  desired  information 
— speedily  led  to  my  occupying  myself  busily  with 
the  great  questions  of  the  day  and  their  international 
interdependence;  and  thus  I  soon  found  myself  ab- 
sorbed in  the  study  of  the  German  and  the  foreign 
press. 

The  pulse  of  our  life  is  the  newspaper;  in  it  beats 
the  heart  of  the  times;  inertness  and  activity,  lassi- 
tude and  fever  find  in  it  their  efficacy  and  expression 
and,  for  him  who  has  to  care  for  the  well-being  of 
the  entire  organism,  they  became,  under  certain 
circumstances,  admonishing  and  warning  voices. 
In  that  year  of  study  which  I  devoted  to  the  press, 
my  first  modest  gain  was  that  I  learned  to  estimate 
clearly  the  significance  of  the  newspaper  for  those 
who  are  willing  to  hear,  to  see  and  to  recognize; — 
yes,  for  those  who  will  hear,  see  and  recognize,  and 
are  not  blinded  to  the  signs  of  the  times  by  an  os- 
trich-like psychology  either  imposed  upon  them  or 
voluntarily  adopted. 

Of  course,  I  had  read  the  newspapers  before, 
in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term.  Mainly, 
I  had  confined  myself  to  journals  of  the  conserva- 
tive type  and  colorless,  well-disposed  news-sheets; 


MATRIMONIAL  73 

though  I  had,  at  any  rate,  read  them  unmutilated 
by  anybody  else's  scissors.  Now,  I  ploughed  my 
way  daily  through  the  whole  field  from  the  Kreuz- 
zeitung  to  the  Vorwdrts ;  and  often  an  article  marked 
by  me  found  its  way  to  the  proper  persons  to  give 
me  the  required  explanations  and  enlightenment. 

Consequently,  in  regard  to  particular  cultural 
and  political  questions,  I  soon  arrived  at  a  point  of 
view  which  showed  me  the  problems  from  quite  a 
different  angle  from  that  adopted  by  His  Majesty 
on  the  ground  of  the  press  cuttings  and  the  reports 
presented  to  him.  The  humor  of  history  was  gro- 
tesquely inverted:  the  King  was  guided  ad  usum 
delphini,  and  the  Dauphin  drew  his  knowledge  out 
of  the  fulness  of  life.  By  reason  of  this  deeper  in- 
sight into  the  driving  forces  of  the  masses  and  of 
the  times,  many  of  the  fundamental  notions  kept 
to  by  the  Kaiser  in  his  method  of  government  ap- 
peared to  me  to  have  lost  their  roots  and  to  be  no 
longer  reconcilable  with  the  spirit  of  modem  mon- 
archy with  its  wise  recognition  of  recent  develop- 
ments and  current  phenomena. 

Besides  the  German  state  organization,  there  was 
another  which,  at  that  time,  aroused  my  special  in- 
terest, namely,  the  British.  I  had  been  about  a 
good  deal  in  England,  and,  in  many  an  hour's  talk 
on  this  fascinating  subject  my  uncle.  King  Edward, 
had  lovingly  instructed  me  concerning  England's 
political  structure,  in  which  I  recognized  many  a 


74    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

feature  of  value  to  our  younger  development.  When 
I  recall  these  memorable  conversations,  in  which 
my  part  was  that  of  a  thoroughly  unsophisticated 
young  disciple  of  a  successful  past  master  and 
fatherly  friend,  it  strikes  me  that  the  King  wanted 
to  bestow  upon  me  something  more  than  a  simple 
lesson  in  the  conditions  of  England;  it  was  rather 
as  though  this,  in  his  own  way  highly  talented  man 
recognized  that  the  ideas  which  had  governed  the 
first  two  decades  of  my  father's  reign  had  been  lead- 
ing farther  and  farther  from  the  lines  along  which 
the  monarchy  of  Germany  ought  to  develop,  if  that 
monarchy  were  to  remain  the  firmly  established  and 
organic  consummation  of  the  state's  structure;  it 
was  as  though  he  clearly  and  consciously  meant  to 
call  my  attention  to  this  danger  point,  in  order  to 
warn  me  and  to  win  me  to  better  ways  even  at  the 
threshold  of  my  political  career. 

All  that  my  old  great-uncle  imparted  to  me  out 
of  the  fulness  of  his  observation  and  experience  I 
gladly  accepted  and  developed,  and  doubtless  this 
has  had  its  share  in  forming  my  views  concerning 
the  Kaiser's  maxims  of  government  and  in  my  feel- 
ing a  strong  inclination  for  the  constitutional  sys- 
tem in  operation  in  England. 

During  this  period  of  eager  study,  I  received  from 
Admiral  von  Tirpitz,  the  head  of  the  Admiralty, 
some  particularly  deep  and  stimulating  impressions. 
In  him  I  found  a  really  surpassing  personality,  a 


MATRIMONIAL  75 

man  who  did  not  stare  rigidly  at  the  narrow  field 
of  his  own  tasks  and  duties,  but  who  saw  the  effects 
of  the  whole  as  they  appeared  in  the  distant  political 
perspective  and  who  served  the  whole  with  all  the 
comprehensive  capacities  of  his  ample  creative 
vigor. 

The  great  work  of  producing  a  German  navy  had 
been  intrusted  to  him  by  the  Kaiser,  and  his  life, 
his  thoughts  and  his  activities  were  entirely  filled 
with  the  desire  and  determination  to  master  the 
enormous  task  for  the  good  of  the  empire  and  in 
spite  of  all  external  and  internal  opposition.  How 
well  he  succeeded  has  been  proved  by  the  Battle  of 
Jutland  which  will  ever  remain  for  him  an  honor- 
able witness  and  memorial — Jutland,  where  the 
fleet  created  by  him  and  inspired  by  his  mind  passed 
so  brilliantly  through  its  baptismal  fire  in  contest 
with  the  immensely  stronger  first  navy  of  the  world. 
Germany  had  then  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  the 
glorious  valor  and  exemplary  discipline  of  her  young 
bluejackets. 

Only  in  one  fundamental  question  did  I,  in  that 
year  of  co-operation,  differ  from  the  lord  high  ad- 
miral. He  held  firmly  to  the  conviction  that  the 
struggle  with  England  for  the  freedom  of  the  seas 
must,  sooner  or  later,  be  fought  out.  His  object  was 
the  "risk  idea,"  that  is  to  say,  he  maintained  that 
our  navy  must  be  made  so  strong  that  any  possible 
contest  with  us  would  appear  to  the  English  to  be 


76    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

a  dangerous  experiment  because  the  chances  of  the 
game  would  then  be  too  great — chances  that  could 
not  be  risked  without  involving  the  possibility  of 
the  English  dominion  of  the  seas  being  entirely  lost. 
To  the  ideal  principle  underlying  this  defense  the- 
ory I  did  not  shut  my  eyes;  but,  considering  our 
political  and  economic  position,  it  seemed  to  me 
that  its  form,  which  presupposed  our  being  the  sole 
opposing  rival  of  England  at  sea,  did  not  permit  its 
realization.  I  was  rather  of  opinion  that  the  "risk 
idea"  could  only  ripen  into  a  healthy,  vigorous  and 
real  balance  of  power  at  sea,  if  the  counterpoise  to 
England  were  formed  in  combination  with  another 
great  power  whose  land  forces  for  this  purpose  would 
not  come  into  consideration,  but  whose  navy  in 
conjunction  with  our  own  would  yield  a  force  ade- 
quate to  gain  the  respect  and  restraint  aimed  at.  In 
this  way,  if  the  thing  were  at  all  feasible,  not  only 
could  an  immense  reduction  of  our  naval  burden 
be  effected,  but  it  would  be  easier  to  overcome  the 
great  danger  of  the  whole  problem,  namely,  the 
smothering  of  our  sea  forces  before  their  goal  had 
been  reached;  for,  I  always  frankly  maintained  and 
asserted  that  the  British  would  never  wait  until 
our  "risk  idea"  had  materialized,  but,  consistently 
pursuing  their  own  policy,  would  destroy  our  greatly 
suspected  navy  long  before  it  could  develop  into  an 
equally  matched  and — in  the  sense  of  the  "risk 
idea" — dangerous  adversary. 


MATRIMONIAL  77 

That,  in  point  of  fact,  the  will  to  adopt  such  a 
radical  course  was  not  wanting,  was  further  proved 
to  me  recently  on  reading  Admiral  Fisher's  book. 
He  states  the  matter  with  astounding  candor  in  the 
following  way:  ** Already  in  the  year  1908,  I  pro- 
posed to  the  King  to  Copenhagen  the  German  navy." 

In  consequence  of  our  political  isolation,  all  my 
doubts  and  considerations  had  to  remain  doubts 
and  considerations.  An  ally  whose  navy  came  into 
consideration  as  an  adjunct  to  ours  we  did  not  pos- 
sess. Nor  would  an  alliance  with  Russia,  such  as 
was  aimed  at  by  Tirpitz,  have  given  us  the  help  of 
such  a  navy. 

When  the  various  efforts  to  bring  about  an  under- 
standing over  the  naval  question  had  all  failed,  the 
right  moment  and  the  last  chance  arrived  for  Eng- 
land to  try  conclusions  with  the  German  navy  with 
some  likelihood  of  success.  The  opportunity  of  war 
in  the  year  1914  offered  that  chance  and  provided 
also  an  unexampled  slogan:  there  were  binding 
treaties  to  be  kept,  and  England  could  likewise  ap- 
pear as  a  spotless  hero  and  the  protector  of  all  small 
nations. 

In  all  this,  too,  it  was  naturally  not  the  naval 
problem  per  se  which  induced  England  to  seize  this 
opportunity  of  joining  in  a  war  against  Germany. 
Sea  power  is  world-power;  our  navy  was  the  pro- 
tecting shield  of  our  world-wide  trade;  it  was  not 
the  shield,  but  the  values  which  it  covered,  at  which 


78    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  blow  was  aimed,  in  the  not  overwillingly  waged 
war.  The  motive  forces  which  urged  towards  war, 
towards  final  settlement,  across  the  Channel  were 
the  same  that  had  previously  effected  our  economic 
isolation;  they  grew  out  of  England's  struggle  for 
existence  with  the  vast  development  of  German 
industry  and  German  commerce.  Her  attem.pted 
strangling  of  these  in  pre-war  years  had  failed; 
the  German  expansion  continued.  Hence  England 
gave  up  the  endeavor  to  avoid  war;  the  final  settle- 
ment must  be  faced.  No  one  who  knew  the  situa- 
tion could  doubt  that  England  would  make  the 
utmost  use  of  such  an  excellent  opportunity  as  that 
provided  by  our  treatment  of  the  Austro-Serbian 
dispute.  Only  lack  of  political  insight  on  the  part 
of  our  statesmen  could  overlook  all  this  and  hope 
for  the  neutrality  of  England  as  Bethmann  HoUweg 
did. 

And  when  we  were  once  involved  in  war  with 
England  and  problems  of  attack  were  presented  to 
our  navy  in  place  of  the  defensive  tasks  for  which  it 
had  been  created,  it  was  a  fatal  blunder  to  keep  it 
out  of  the  fray,  or  to  deny  a  free  hand  in  its  employ- 
ment to  Grand- Admiral  von  Tirpitz  who  knew  the 
instrument  forged  by  him  as  no  one  else  could. 
The  parties  who,  at  that  time,  had  to  decide  con- 
cerning the  fate  of  the  navy  failed  to  gain  that  im- 
mortality which  lay  within  their  reach.  Although 
it  lay  within  arm's  length  of  both  von  Miiller  and 


MATRIMONIAL  79 

of  Admiral  Pohl  neither  of  these  men  has  succeeded 
in  gaining  immortality.  Everybody  clung  to  Beth- 
mann's  notion  of  carrying  the  fleet  as  safe  and  sound 
as  possible  through  the  war  in  order  to  use  it  as  a 
factor  in  possible  peace  negotiations — ^an  idea  that 
was  scarcely  more  sensible  than,  say,  the  idea  of 
carrying  the  army  and  its  ammunition  intact 
through  the  war  with  a  like  purpose.  People  philo- 
sophized over  distant  possibilities  and  missed  the 
hour  for  acting! 

Admiral  von  Tirpitz  was  a  highly  talented  and 
strong-willed  man,  looked  up  to  by  the  entire  navy. 
His  sense  of  responsibility  and  his  resoluteness  per- 
sonified, as  it  were,  for  them  the  fighting  ideal  of  his 
weapon,  and  I  am  still  convinced  that  he  would  have 
turned  the  full  force  of  the  fleet  against  England  as 
rapidly  as  possible.  Such  an  attack,  carried  out 
with  fresh  confidence  in  one's  own  strength  and 
under  the  conviction  of  victory,  would  not  have 
failed.  That  such  a  view  is  not  in  the  least  fantastic 
and  is  shared  by  the  enemy  is  evidenced  by  a  pas- 
sage in  Admiral  Jellicoe's  book,  in  which  he  writes: — 

"With  my  knowledge  of  the  German  navy,  with 
my  appreciation  of  its  performances  and  with  a 
view  to  the  spirit  of  its  officers  and  its  men,  it  was 
a  great  surprise  to  me  to  see  the  first  weeks  and 
months  of  the  war  pass  by  without  the  German 
navy  having  conducted  any  enterprises  in  the  Chan- 
nel or  against  our  coasts.    The  possibilities  of  sue- 


80    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

cess  of  an  immediate  employment  of  the  German 
forces  I  should  not  have  underrated." 

But,  as  Goethe  says,  enthusiasm  is  not  like  her- 
rings; it  cannot  be  pickled  and  kept  for  years;  and 
the  spirit  of  attack,  national  consciousness  and  dis- 
cipline cannot  be  preserved  or  bottled.  In  our 
navy,  so  proud  and  powerful  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  these  qualities  withered  and  decayed  because 
that  navy  was  not  allowed  to  prove  its  strength, 
and  was  not  used  at  the  right  moment. 

Hence,  the  weapon  which  failed  to  strike  when  it 
ought  to  have  struck  finally  turned  against  our 
Fatherland  and  helped  to  bring  about  our  defeat. 

I  have  perused  the  sheets  written  yesterday. 
These  jottings  of  mine  will  not  constitute  a  regular 
and  well-arranged  book  of  reminiscences  reproducing 
events  in  their  exact  order  of  time.  I  had  intended 
to  write  of  my  inauguration  into  the  affairs  of  the 
Admiralty  and  of  the  valuable  work  in  conjunction 
with  Admiral  von  Tirpitz;  and,  in  the  ineradicable 
bitterness  of  my  recollections,  I  sped  into  the  events 
of  later  years. 

In  mentioning  the  "risk  idea"  of  Tirpitz,  I 
touched  upon  our  political  isolation.  On  this  sub- 
ject there  is,  perhaps,  much  more  to  be  said. 

When,  soon  after  the  completion  of  my  labors  at 
the  Admiralty,  I  penetrated  farther  and  farther  into 
the  problems  of  the  foreign  policy  of  the  empire,  I 
repeatedly  found  confirmation  of  the  fact  that,  as  I 


MATRIMONIAL  81 

had  observed  during  my  travels,  our  country  was 
not  much  loved  anywhere  and  was  indeed  frequently 
hated.  Apart  from  our  allies  on  the  Danube  and 
possibly  the  Swedes,  Spaniards,  Turks  and  Argen- 
tinians, no  one  really  cared  for  us.  Whence  came 
this?  Undoubtedly,  in  the  first  place,  from  a  cer- 
tain envy  of  our  immense  economic  progress,  envy 
of  the  unceasing  growth  of  the  German  merchant's 
influence  on  the  world  market,  envy  of  the  great 
diligence  and  of  the  creative  intelligence  and  energy 
of  the  German  people.  England,  above  all,  felt  her 
peculiar  economic  position  threatened  by  these  cir- 
cumstances. This  was  naturally  no  reason  for  us  to 
feel  any  self-reproach,  since  every  people  has  a  per- 
fect right,  by  healthy  and  honorable  endeavors,  to 
promote  its  own  material  well-being  and  to  increase 
its  economic  sphere  of  influence.  By  fair  competi- 
tion between  one  nation  and  another,  humanity  as  a 
whole  attains  higher  and  higher  stages  of  civiliza- 
tion. Only  ignorant  visionaries  can  imagine  that 
progress  in  the  life  of  the  individual,  of  a  people 
or  of  the  world  can  be  expected  if  competition  be 
barred. 

But  it  was  not  alone  envy  of  German  efficiency 
that  gained  for  us  the  aversion  of  the  great  majority; 
we  had  managed  by  less  worthy  qualities  to  make 
ourselves  disliked.  It  is  imprudent  and  tactless  for 
individuals  or  peoples  to  push  themselves  forward 
with  excessive  noisiness  in  their  efforts  to  get  on;  dis- 


82    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

trust,  opposition,  repulsion  and  enmity  are  thereby 
provoked.  Yet  it  is  into  this  fault  that  we  Ger- 
mans, both  officially  and  personally,  have  lapsed 
only  too  often.  The  openly  provocative  and  blus- 
tering deportment,  the  attitude  adopted  by  many 
Germans  abroad  of  continually  wishing  to  teach 
everybody  and  to  act  as  guardians  to  the  whole 
world  ruffled  the  nerves  of  other  people.  In  con- 
junction with  the  stupidity  and  bad  taste  of  a  kin- 
dred character  proceeding  from  leading  personages 
and  public  officials  at  home  and  readily  heard  and 
caught  up  abroad,  this  conduct  did  immense  dam- 
age, more  especially,  again,  in  the  case  of  England, 
who  felt  herself  particularly  menaced  by  modem 
Germany. 

In  many  a  political  chat,  that  was  as  good  as  a 
lesson  to  me,  my  great-uncle.  King  Edward  VII — 
with  whom  I  always  stood  on  a  good  footing  and 
who  was  undoubtedly  a  remarkable  personality  en- 
dowed with  vast  experience,  as  well  as  great  wisdom 
and  practical  intelligence — repeatedly  expressed  his 
anxiety  that  the  economic  competition  of  Germany 
would  some  day  lead  to  a  collision  with  England. 
"There  must  be  a  stop  put  to  it,"  he  would  say  on 
such  occasions. 

Facing  all  these  facts  objectively  and  remember- 
ing that  England's  forces  had  always  been  employed 
against  that  Continental  power  which  at  any  given 
moment  happened  to  be  the  strongest,  it  followed 


MATRIMONIAL  83 

that,  sooner  or  later,  the  German  Empire  would  in- 
evitably become  involved  in  a  war  unless  the  oppo- 
sition between  it  and  England  were  removed. 

Personally,  I  considered  it  desirable  to  strive  for 
an  understanding  with  England  on  economic,  eco- 
nomico-political  and  colonial  questions.  I  did  not, 
however,  entertain  any  illusions  as  to  the  difficulty 
of  such  an  undertaking.  I  was  quite  aware  that 
any  such  effort  presupposed  a  thorough  discussion 
both  of  the  naval  programme  and  of  economic  mat- 
ters. The  goal  appeared  to  me  well  worth  the  sac- 
rifice, for  the  relaxation  of  the  political  tension 
followed  ultimately  by  an  alliance  with  England 
would  not  merely  have  secured  peace,  but  would 
have  provided  us  with  advantages  amply  compen- 
sating for  the  concessions  made.  Prince  Biilow,  with 
whom  I  once  talked  about  this  delicate  question,  re- 
ferred me  to  a  saying  of  Prince  Bismarck's,  namely, 
that  he  was  quite  willing  to  love  the  English,  but 
that  they  refused  to  be  loved.  For  an  alliance  with 
England,  which,  while  not  involving  the  sombre 
risk  of  war  with  Russia,  would  have  been  calculated 
to  bind  England  really  and  seriously,  he  seemed  at 
that  time  not  at  all  disinclined.  But  as,  accord- 
ing to  him,  Lord  Salisbury,  the  British  Prime  Minis- 
ter in  the  early  years  of  the  century,  was  not  to  be 
persuaded  to  such  an  alliance,  he  thought  to  do 
better,  under  the  circumstances,  by  adopting  a 
"policy  of  the  free  hand."    Similar  answers  were 


84    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

given  me  by  all  the  other  leading  statesmen  of  the 
realm  to  whom  I  disclosed  my  ideas:  an  under- 
standing with  England,  they  said,  was  impossible; 
England  would  not  have  it;  or,  if  a  basis  were  found, 
we  should  lose  by  the  whole  affair.  But  their  rea- 
sons failed  to  convince  me.  Why,  a  glance  across 
the  black,  white  and  red  frontier  poles  showed  that, 
all  around  us,  quite  other  political  feats  had  been 
performed;  but  they  had  been  performed  by  men 
who  understood  their  profession  and  the  signs  of  the 
times.  Nor  do  I  consider  that,  in  the  years  to 
which  I  refer  here,  England  was  indisposed  or  could 
not  have  been  won  over,  even  though  matters  were 
no  longer  presented  to  us  on  a  silver  tray  as  they 
had  been  at  the  beginning  of  the  Boer  War,  when 
Joseph  Chamberlain  quite  openly  tried  to  bring 
about  an  alliance  between  Germany,  England  and 
the  United  States.  Even  now  the  possibility  of  start- 
ing over  at  the  point  where  we  had  then  failed  was 
by  no  means  out  of  the  question.  Nevertheless,  I 
had  to  accept  the  fact  that  Prince  Biilow  and  his 
politicians  were  not  to  be  persuaded  to  a  serious, 
well-grounded  understanding  with  England;  they 
seemed  thoroughly  satisfied  with  the  outwardly 
amiable  and  courteous  relations,  they  considered  the 
situation  well  tried  and  satisfactory,  and  saw  no 
reason  to  regard  it  as  so  acute  or  threatening. 

Hence,  for  the  future,  I  endeavored  to  think  the 
matter  over  on  the  rigid  lines  laid  down  by  Wilhelm- 


MATRIMONIAL  85 

strasse.  Assuming  it  to  be  impossible  to  alter  the  dif- 
ferences with  England  or  to  bridge  the  gap  opened 
during  the  Boer  War  by  the  overhasty  Kriiger  tele- 
gram (the  responsibility  for  which,  by  the  way,  has 
been  quite  unjustifiably  charged  to  the  Kaiser),  the 
only  possible  and  capable  ally  left  for  us  in  Europe 
was  Russia.  If  we  had  an  alliance  with  Russia, 
England  would  never  risk  a  war  with  us;  nay,  she 
would  have  to  be  satisfied  if  this  alliance  did  not 
menace  her  Indian  dominions.  Consequently  every 
effort  should  be  made  to  re-establish  the  bond  which, 
subsequent  to  Bismarck's  retirement,  had  been 
broken  by  denouncing  the  reinsurance  treaty;  every- 
thing ought  to  be  done  to  loosen  the  Franco-Russian 
Alliance  and  to  draw  Russia  into  co-operation  with 
ourselves.  This,  too,  was  no  easy  task ;  but  there  was 
a  prospect  of  succeeding,  if  we  supported  Russia's 
wishes  in  regard  to  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Persian 
Gulf.  I  talked  at  the  time  with  Turkish  politicians 
about  the  matter  and  found  them  anything  but  in- 
accessible in  regard  to  the  question  of  a  free  passage 
through  the  Dardanelles.  Moreover,  opposition  to 
this  solution  was  scarcely  to  be  feared  from  our 
allies  Austria-Hungary.  Here,  therefore,  I  seemed 
to  see  a  suitable  starting-point. 

From  all  these  considerations  France  was  excluded 
since,  after  the  weakening  of  Russia,  we  had  missed 
the  opportunity  of  coming  to  a  complete  under- 
standing with  the  well-intentioned  Rouvier  Cabinet 


86    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

in  the  early  summer  of  1905.  In  the  meantime,  by 
skilful  cultivation  of  the  idea  of  revenge  against 
Germany,  even  the  bitterness  towards  England 
caused  by  the  Fashoda  affront  had  been  dissipated. 
The  conditio  sine  qua  nan  for  any  agreement  would 
be  the  sacrifice  of  at  least  a  part  of  the  Reichsland,  a 
thing  which  we  could  not  even  discuss  in  times  of 
peace. 

But,  neither  during  Billow's  chancellorship  nor 
Herr  von  Bethmann's,  was  any  energetic  action 
undertaken  or  well-defined  programme  adopted  by 
the  Government  to  bring  about  an  understanding 
with  England  or  to  attach  our  policy  to  Russia. 
People  clung  to  the  hope  of  sailing  round  any  pos- 
sible rocks  of  war;  they  wished  to  offend  nobody 
and  therefore  conducted  a  short-term  hand-to-mouth 
policy  which  had  no  longer  anything  in  common 
with  the  clever  and  wide-spun  conceptions  of  Bis- 
marck tradition. 

As  a  consequence,  very  depressing  misgivings 
often  overcame  me  when  I  thought  what  notions 
our  leading  statesmen  entertained  of  our  political 
position.  That  they  misconstrued  the  seriousness 
of  affairs  I  refused  to  believe,  for  the  fact  of  our 
isolation  was  sufficient  to  prove  even  to  the  most 
inexperienced  observer  with  any  sound  common 
sense  that,  with  our  peace  policy  of  ''niemand  zu 
Liebe  und  niemand  zu  Leide"  (without  considera- 
tion of  persons)  we  were  in  danger,  between  two 


MATRIMONIAL  87 

stools,  of  coming  to  the  ground.  Hence  I  was 
obliged  just  to  recognize  the  incomprehensible  calm 
with  which  our  political  leaders  guided  the  realm 
through  those  times  while  our  opponents'  ring 
closed  tighter  and  tighter. 

The  game  was  an  unequal  one ! 

It  was  unequal  in  the  parties  that  faced  each  other 
as  exponents  of  the  two  sets  of  effective  forces. 
On  this  side  was  His  Majesty,  who,  down  to  the 
crisis  of  November,  1908,  ruled  with  great  self-con- 
fidence and  a  perhaps  too  assiduously  manifested 
desire  for  power;  beside  him  and  severely  handi- 
capped by  all  kinds  of  moods  and  political  sym- 
pathies and  antipathies  of  the  Kaiser's,  stood  Prince 
Billow,  whose  place  was  taken  the  following  summer 
by  Theobald  von  Bethmann. 

On  the  other  side  was  King  Edward  VII,  and  be- 
side him  and  after  him  half  a  dozen  strong,  clear- 
headed men  who,  misled  by  no  sentiment,  worked 
along  the  lines  of  a  firmly  established  tradition  to 
accomplish  the  programme  mapped  out  for  Eng- 
land and  England's  weal. 

I  repeat  it:  the  game  was  unequal. 

I  do  not  underestimate  the  great  talents  which, 
in  the  most  difficult  circumstances,  enabled  Prince 
Billow,  time  and  again,  to  bridge  over  gulfs,  to  ef- 
fect compromises  and  adjustments,  and  to  disguise 
fissures.  But  he  was  not  a  great  architect;  he  was 
not  a  man  of  Bismarck's  mighty  mould;  he  was  not 


88    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

a  Faust  with  eyes  fixed  on  the  heights  and  the  hori- 
zon ;  no,  he  was  none  of  these,  but  he  was  a  brilliant 
master  of  little  remedies  with  which  to  save  oneself 
from  an  evil  to-day  for  a  possibly  more  bearable  to- 
morrow; he  was  a  serious  politician  who  had  thor- 
oughly learned  his  handicraft  and  exercised  it  with 
graceful  ease;  firm  in  the  possession  of  this,  he  was 
therefore  no  charlatan;  he  was  a  reader  of  char- 
acter, too,  who  knew  how  to  deal  with  his  men — a 
personality. 

Of  all  post-Bismarckian  chancellors.  Prince  Biilow 
strikes  me  as,  far  and  away,  the  most  noteworthy; 
indeed,  I  would  place  him  well  outside  the  frame  of 
this  very  relative  compliment  that  really  does  not 
say  much.  He  understood  perfectly  how  to  defend 
his  policy  in  the  Reichstag;  and  his  speeches,  with 
their  genuine  national  feeling,  scarcely  ever  missed 
their  mark.  Moreover,  he  could  negotiate,  he 
showed  skill  and  tact  in  personal  intercourse  with 
parliamentarians,  foreigners  and  press  men;  and, 
like  no  one  else  since  the  first  chancellor,  he  gave  a 
due  place  in  his  calculations  to  the  value  of  the  press 
and  of  public  opinion.  I  look  back  with  pleasure  to 
my  conversations  with  him.  What  a  gaily  pliable 
intellect !  What  sound  sense !  What  excellent  judg- 
ment of  men  and  of  problems ! 

He  was  also,  I  consider,  the  best  man  at  hand 
in  the  summer  of  1917;  and  I  greatly  regretted,  at 
that  time,  his  not  being  called  to  the  chief  post  after 


MATRIMONIAL  89 

Bethmann's  exit.  His  peculiar  character  would  as- 
suredly have  understood  how  to  bring  about  fruit- 
ful co-operation  between  the  Government  and  the 
Higher  Command;  I  believe,  too,  that  this  adroit 
diplomatist  would  have  succeeded  in  finding  a  way 
out  of  the  difficulties  of  the  World  War,  and  that  he 
would  have  effected  a  peace  that  would  have  been 
tolerable  for  our  country. 

On  each  of  the  two  occasions  when  a  fresh  chancel- 
lor was  to  be  appointed,  I  advised  His  Majesty  to 
select  either  him  or  Tirpitz, — unfortunately,  with- 
out success!  The  reappointment  of  Biilow  as 
chancellor  would  not  have  been  prevented  by  the 
aversion  which  the  Kaiser  had  conceived  during 
the  events  of  November,  1908,  if  the  proper  influen- 
tial parties  had  assiduously  supported  the  choice. 
I  was  able  to  ascertain  that,  on  both  occasions,  the 
necessary  precautions  had  been  taken  to  ensure 
Billow's  being  passed  over  by  the  Kaiser. 

Yonder  stood  the  King. 

I  am  aware  that  there  is  a  tendency  (not  by  any 
means  confined  to  the  general  public)  to  impute  to 
King  Edward  a  personal  hatred  of  Germany — a 
diabolical  relish  for  destruction  which  found  expres- 
sion in  forging  a  noose  for  the  strangling  of  our 
country.  To  my  mind  such  a  presentation  of  his 
character  is  totally  lacking  in  reality.  Among 
others,  my  father  has  never  viewed  King  Edward 
without   all   sorts   of  prejudices,    and   has   conse- 


90    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

quently  never  formed  a  just  estimate  of  him.  That 
trait — so  constantly  visible  in  the  Kaiser's  actions 
— of  readily  attributing  positive  failures  to  the 
activities  of  individuals  and  of  regarding  them  as 
the  result  of  machinations  directed  against  him 
personally  may  play  some  part  here.  But  there 
was  doubtless  always,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  what  I 
might  call  a  latent  and  mutual  disapproval  present 
in  the  minds  of  these  two  men,  notwithstanding  all 
their  outward  cordiality.  The  Kaiser  may  have  felt 
that  his  somewhat  loud  and  jingling  rather  than 
essential  manner  often  sounded  in  vain  upon  the  ear 
of  King  Edward  with  his  experience  of  the  world 
and  his  sense  of  realities;  that  it  encountered  scep- 
ticism; that  perhaps  it  was  even  received  sometimes 
with  ironic  silence;  that  it  met  with  a  sort  of  quiet 
obstruction  too  smoothly  polished  to  present  any 
point  of  attack  and  thus  easily  tempted  the  Kaiser 
to  exaggerate  it. 

Having  myself  known  King  Edward  from  my 
earliest  youth  and  having  had  ample  opportunity 
of  talking  with  him  on  past  and  current  affairs  al- 
most up  to  his  death,  my  own  conception  of  his 
character  is  an  utterly  different  one.  I  see  in  him 
the  serene  world-experienced  man  and  the  most 
successful  monarch  in  Europe  for  many  a  long  day. 
Personally,  he  was,  as  far  as  I  can  remember,  ex- 
tremely friendly  to  me  and,  as  I  have  said  before,  he 
took  a  most  active  interest  in  my  development.    In 


MATRIMONIAL  91 

the  year  1901,  just  after  the  passing  of  the  Queen,  he 
invested  me  with  the  Order  of  the  Garter;  the  cere- 
mony took  place  in  Osborne  Castle,  and  King  Ed- 
ward addressed  to  me  an  exceedingly  warm-hearted 
and  kinsman-like  speech;  I  was  then  on  the  threshold 
of  my  twentieth  year,  and  my  great-uncle  seemed, 
from  what  he  said,  to  feel  a  sort  of  responsibility  for 
my  welfare.  His  sense  of  family  attachment  was 
altogether  strongly  marked;  to  see  him  in  the  circle 
of  his  Danish  relatives  at  Copenhagen  filled  the  be- 
holder with  delight:  there,  he  was  only  the  good 
uncle  and  the  amiable  man. 

Often  we  have  sat  talking  for  hours  in  the  most 
unconstrained  fashion — ^he  leaning  back  in  a  great 
easy  chair  and  smoking  an  enormous  cigar.  At  such 
times,  he  narrated  many  interesting  things — some- 
times out  of  his  own  life.  And  it  is  from  what  he 
imparted  to  me  and  from  what  I  saw  with  my  own 
eyes  that  I  have  formed  my  picture  of  him — a  pic- 
true  that  contains  not  a  single  trait  of  duplicity, 
a  picture  that  reveals  him  as  a  brilliant  representa- 
tive of  his  country's  interests  and  one  who,  I  am 
convinced,  would  rather  have  secured  those  inter- 
ests in  co-operation  with  Germany  than  in  spite  of 
her,  but  who,  finding  the  former  way  barred,  turned 
with  all  his  energies  to  the  one  thing  possible  and 
needful,  namely,  the  assurance  of  that  security  per  se. 

Owing  to  the  great  length  of  his  mother's  reign, 
Edward  VII  did  not  come  to  the  throne  till  he  was 


92    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

a  man  of  very  ripe  age.  As  Prince  of  Wales  he  had 
abundantly  exploited  his  excessively  long  period  of 
probation.  On  leaving  his  parental  home  with  a 
good  training  and  education,  he  rushed  into  life 
with  an  ardent  thirst  for  pleasure  and  gave  himself 
up  to  his  strong  passions  for  women,  gambling  and 
sport.  In  this  way  he  passed  through  all  circles 
and  all  strata  of  society — ^good,  bad  and  indifferent 
— and  nothing  human  remained  alien  to  him.  Just 
as  an  old  and  tranquillized  mariner  talks  of  the  voy- 
ages weathered  in  years  gone  by,  so  did  King  Ed- 
ward speak  to  me  of  those  experiences  of  his  which 
had  evoked  from  the  public  only  hard  and  dispar- 
aging judgments.  Yet,  for  him  and  for  his  country, 
those  years  of  restless  vagabondage  became  fruitful. 
His  clear,  cool  and  deliberative  insight  and  his  prac- 
tical common  sense  brought  him  an  unerring  knowl- 
edge of  mankind  and  taught  him  the  difficult  art  of 
dealing  properly  with  differing  types  of  humanity. 
I  have  scarcely  ever  met  any  other  person  who 
understood  as  he  did  how  to  charm  the  people  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  And  yet  he  had  no 
vanity,  he  displayed  no  visible  wish  to  make  any 
impression  by  his  urbanity  or  his  conversation.  On 
the  contrary,  he  almost  faded  into  the  background; 
the  other  party  seemed  to  become  more  important 
than  himself.  Thus  he  could  listen,  interject  a 
question,  be  talked  to  and  arouse  in  each  individual 
the  feeling  that  he,  the  King,  took  a  most  kindly 


MATRIMONIAL  93 

interest  in  his  thoughts  and  actions — ^that  he  was 
fascinated  and  stimulated  by  him.  In  this  way  he 
gained  the  friendship  and  attachment  of  a  great 
number  of  people — ^above  all  of  those  who  were  of 
value  to  him. 

In  his  own  country,  his  taste  for  sport  secured 
him  an  enviable  position.  He  owned  a  superb 
racing  stud,  devoted  himself  with  great  enthusiasm 
to  yachting,  and  was  perhaps  the  best  shot  in 
England.  Moreover,  that  partiality  for  beautiful 
women  which  he  kept  even  throughout  the  later 
years  of  his  life  became  finally  a  key  to  the  extra- 
ordinary popularity  enjoyed  by  him  in  England 
and  throughout  the  Continent.  In  his  outward 
appearance  and  bearing  he  was  the  grand  seigneur 
and  finished  man  of  the  world. 

It  is  thus  that  I  see  the  King  and  the  qualities 
that  served  him  in  carrying  out  his  policy.  An  ex- 
cellent reader  of  character  and  a  cool  tactician,  he 
gained  permanent  successes  wherever  he  interposed 
his  personality.  It  was  his  influence  that  drew 
France  into  the  entente  cordiale  with  England  in 
spite  of  Fashoda;  and  it  was  he,  personally,  who 
attracted  the  Tsar  farther  and  farther  away  from 
Germany  and  won  him  for  England  notwithstand- 
ing the  great  commercial  antitheses  in  the  Far  East 
and  in  Persia. 

Why  all  that  ?  To  destroy  Germany  ?  Certainly 
not!    But  he  and  his  country  had  recognized  that, 


94    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

for  some  years,  the  curve  of  Germany's  commercial, 
economico-political  and  industrial  progress  had  been 
such  that  England  was  in  danger  of  being  outstripped. 
Here  he  had  to  step  in.  As  an  agreement  could  not 
be  effected,  commercial  isolation  became  his  instru- 
ment for  curtailing  our  development.  War  with 
Germany  the  King,  I  believe,  never  wanted.  I  be- 
lieve, too,  that  not  only  would  he  have  been  able  to 
prevent  the  outbreak  of  war,  but  that  he  would  in- 
deed have  prevented  it.  I  believe  so,  because  his 
statesmanlike  foresight  would  have  recognized  both 
the  revolutionary  dangers  and  the  risk  run  by  the 
great  European  powers  of  losing  authority  and  in- 
fluence in  world-competition  if — ^armed  as  never 
before — ^they  tore  and  lacerated  each  other  by  war 
among  themselves.  I  will  go  further  and  assert 
that,  with  the  acknowledged  status  enjoyed  by  him 
in  Europe  and  in  the  world  at  large.  King  Edward, 
if  he  had  lived  longer,  would  probably  not  have 
stopped  at  the  creation  of  a  Triple  Entente  but  would 
perhaps  have  built  a  bridge  between  the  Entente  and 
the  Triple  Alliance  and  thus  have  brought  into  being 
the  United  States  of  Europe.  He,  but  only  he, 
could  have  done  it. 

His  epigones  have  placed  the  outcome  of  his 
labors  in  the  service  of  Russia  and  France;  and  there- 
with began  the  war,  long,  long  before  the  sword  it- 
self was  unsheathed. 

In  the  face  of  all  this  and  in  certain  anticipation 


]VIATRIMONIAL  95 

of  this  final  settlement,  it  became  the  bounden  duty 
of  the  German  Empire  to  arm  itself  as  thoroughly  as 
possible  and  to  demand  a  similar  fighting  power 
from  Austria,  which  country,  under  the  influence  of 
the  Archduke  Francis  Ferdinand  and  the  men 
selected  by  him,  had  become  politically  very  active. 
This  was  the  least  we  could  do  to  ensure  some  pros- 
pect of  an  honorable  and  bearable  settlement.  And 
that  there  was  danger  in  the  air  was  proved  not 
merely  by  the  general  political  complexion;  the  fe- 
verish and  unconcealed  warlike  preparations  of  the 
Entente  were  clearly  directed  against  us  and  showed 
that  they  wanted  to  be  ready  and  then  to  await  the 
right  watchword  for  a  rupture.  France  exhausted 
her  man-power  and  her  finances  in  order  to  maintain 
a  disproportionately  large  army;  Russia,  in  return 
for  French  money,  placed  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  peasants  in  sombre  earth-hued  uniforms;  Italy 
glared  greedily  at  Turkish  Tripoli  and  built  fortress 
after  fortress  along  the  frontiers  of  its  deeply  hated 
ally,  Austria.  England  watched  this  activity  and 
launched  ship  after  ship. 

In  spite  of  these  huge  dangers,  our  own  prepara- 
tions were  limited  to  the  minimum  of  the  essential; 
and  if  proofs  were  required  that  we  did  not  desire 
the  war,  it  would  suffice  to  point  out  that  it  did  not 
find  us  prepared  as  we  ought  to  have  been.  So  far 
as  my  very  circumscribed  capacities  and  my  feeble 
influence  went  in  the  years  preceding  the  war,  I  per- 


96    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

sistently  advocated,  in  view  of  the  menacing  situa- 
tion, an  augmentation  of  our  military  resources. 

Not  much  was  done,  however.  The  last  Defense 
Bill  of  1913  had  to  be  forced  down  the  throat  of  the 
Imperial  Chancellor  von  Bethmann  Hollweg.  The 
re-equipment  of  the  field  artillery  could  not  be  car- 
ried out  before  the  outbreak  of  war,  with  the  result 
that  the  superior  French  field-guns  gave  us  a  deal 
of  trouble  for  a  long  time. 

I  am  speaking  here  of  the  Bethmann  era,  and  yet 
I  would  not  leave  the  period  of  Prince  Billow's 
chancellorship  without  dwelling  for  a  little  on  one 
of  the  most  perturbing  incidents  in  the  life  of  the 
Kaiser,  namely,  the  conflict  of  November,  1908. 

In  the  Reichstag  sitting  of  the  tenth — ten  years  to 
the  day  before  all  ended  in  the  journey  to  Holland 
— the  storm  began  to  howl  and  lasted  throughout 
the  following  day.    The  causes  are  known. 

In  reality,  how  did  matters  stand? 

In  the  year  1907,  while  staying  with  the  retired 
General  Stuart  Wortley  at  Highcliffe  Castle  on  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  my  father  had  entered  into  a  number 
of  informal  conversations  in  which,  undeniably,  sev- 
eral unintentional  and  therefore  injudicious  remarks 
and  communications  escaped  him.  With  the  help 
of  the  English  journalist,  Harold  Spender,  these  com- 
munications were  afterwards  worked  up  by  Wort- 
ley  into  the  form  of  an  interview  to  be  published 


MATRIMONIAL  97 

in  the  Daily  Telegraph.  The  manuscript  was  for- 
warded to  the  Kaiser  with  a  request  that  he  would 
give  his  consent  to  its  publication.  In  a  perfectly 
loyal  way,  the  Kaiser  sent  it  on  to  the  Imperial 
Chancellor  and  asked  him  for  his  opinion.  The  pro- 
ceedings were  consequently  all  absolutely  correct; 
and  nothing  improper  had  occurred,  unless  the  re- 
marks themselves  are  to  be  characterized  as  such; 
and  even  then,  one  must  give  the  Kaiser  credit  for 
having  made  them  with  the  object  of  improving 
Anglo-German  relations,  just  as  General  Stuart 
Wortley,  with  the  like  intention,  hit  upon  the  idea 
of  making  them  known  to  wider  circles. 

The  manuscript  was  returned  to  the  Kaiser  with 
the  remark  that  there  was  no  objection  to  its  being 
published — save  that,  through  negligence  and  a 
number  of  unfortunate  coincidences,  none  of  the 
gentlemen  who  were  responsible  for  this  judgment 
had  actually  read  the  text  with  any  care.  And  go 
mischief  stalked  his  way. 

For  two  days  the  Reichstag  raged  at  the  absent 
Kaiser;  two  groups  of  representatives  of  almost 
every  party  poured  out  their  pent-up  floods  of  in- 
dignation; all  the  dissatisfaction  with  his  methods 
and  his  rule  that  had  been  accumulating  for  two 
decades  now  burst  forth  in  an  unimpeded  stream. 
And  yet  the  man  who  was  called  by  my  father's 
trust  to  stand  by  his  Imperial  master,  to  cover  him 
and  to  defend  him, — that  man  failed,  that  man 


98    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

shrugged  his  shoulders  and  shuffled  off  with  a  scarce 
concealed  gesture  of  resignation.  Nerves,  you  say? 
Possibly.  The  only  man  who,  on  that  occasion, 
chivalrously  rushed  into  the  breach  in  defense  of  his 
King  was  the  old  and  splendidly  faithful  deputy  von 
Oldenburg.  Considering  the  general  indignation 
that  had  arisen,  the  task  before  which  Prince  Biilow 
stood  was  indisputably  very  difficult;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  perfectly  comprehensible  that  the 
Kaiser — ^who,  in  this  case,  had  acted  quite  correctly, 
and  now  saw  himself  suddenly,  and  for  the  first 
time,  face  to  face  with  an  almost  united  opposition 
of  the  people — was  wrenched  out  of  his  security  and 
confidence  and  felt  that  he  was  deserted  and  aban- 
doned by  the  chancellor. 

Meantime,  the  press  storm  continued  and  pro- 
duced day  after  day  a  dozen  or  so  of  accusatory 
and  disapproving  articles. 

My  father  had  returned.  Prostrated  by  the  ex- 
citing and  violent  events  and  still  more  by  the  lack 
of  understanding  he  had  met  with,  he  lay  ill  at 
Potsdam.  The  incomprehensible  had  happened: 
after  twenty  years,  during  which  he  had  imagined 
himself  to  be  the  idol  of  the  majority  of  his  people 
and  had  supposed  his  rule  to  be  exemplary,  disap- 
proval of  him  and  of  his  character  was  quite  unmis- 
takably pronounced. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  I  was  ur- 
gently called  to  the  New  Palace.    At  the  door,  my 


MATRIMONIAL  99 

mother's  old  valet  de  chambre  awaited  me  to  say  that 
Her  Majesty  wanted  to  see  me  before  I  went  to  the 
Kaiser. 

I  rushed  up-stairs.  My  mother  received  me  im- 
mediately. She  was  agitated,  and  her  eyes  were 
red.  She  kissed  me  and  held  my  head  before  her  in 
both  hands.    Then  she  said: 

"You  know,  my  boy,  what  you  are  here  for?" 

"No,  mother." 

"Then  go  to  your  father.  But  sound  your  heart 
before  you  decide." 

Then  I  knew  what  was  coming. 

A  few  minutes  later  I  stood  beside  my  father's 
sick-bed. 

I  was  shocked  at  his  appearance.  Only  once 
since  have  I  seen  him  thus.  It  was  ten  years  later, 
on  the  fatal  date  at  Spa,  when  General  Groner 
struck  away  his  last  foothold  and,  with  a  shrug, 
coldly  destroyed  his  belief  in  the  fidelity  of  the 
army. 

He  seemed  aged  by  years;  he  had  lost  hope,  and 
felt  himself  to  be  deserted  by  everybody;  he  was 
broken  down  by  the  catastrophe  which  had  snatched 
the  ground  from  beneath  his  feet;  his  self-confidence 
and  his  trust  were  shattered. 

A  deep  pity  was  in  me.  Scarcely  ever  have  I  felt 
myself  so  near  him  as  in  that  hour. 

He  told  me  to  sit  down.  He  talked  urgently,  ac- 
cusingly and  hurriedly  of  the  incidents;  and  the  bit- 


100    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

terness  aroused  by  the  injustice  which  he  saw  in 
them  kept  reasserting  itself. 

I  tried  to  soothe  and  encourage  him. 

I  stayed  with  him  for  quite  an  hour  sitting  on  his 
bed,  a  thing  which,  so  long  as  I  can  remember,  had 
never  happened  before. 

In  the  end  it  was  arranged  that,  for  a  short  time, 
and  till  he  had  completely  recovered  from  his  ill- 
ness, I  should  act  as  a  kind  of  locum  tenens  for  the 
Kaiser. 

In  exercising  this  office  I  kept  entirely  in  the  back- 
ground, and  was  soon  released  from  the  duties  alto- 
gether, since,  in  a  few  weeks,  the  Kaiser  was  seem- 
ingly himself  again. 

Seemingly!  For,  as  I  have  already  said,  he  has 
never  really  recovered  from  the  blow.  Under  the 
cloak  of  his  old  self-confidence,  he  assumed  an  ever- 
increasing  reserve,  which,  though  hidden  from  the 
outside  world,  was  often  more  restricting  than  the 
limits  of  his  constitutional  position.  In  the  war, 
this  personal  modesty  led  to  an  almost  complete  ex- 
clusion of  his  own  person  from  the  military  and 
organization  measures  and  commands  of  the  chief 
of  his  General  Staff.  Those  of  us  officers  who  had 
an  insight  into  the  business  of  the  leading  military 
posts  could  not  but  regret  this  fact,  as  we  had  un- 
reservedly admired  the  sound  judgment  and  the 
military  perception  of  the  Kaiser  even  in  operations 
on  a  grand  scale.  During  the  war,  I  had  frequent 
occasion  to  discuss  the  entire  strategic  situation 


MATRIMONIAL  101 

with  my  father,  and  I  generally  received  the  impres- 
sion that  he  hit  the  nail  on  the  head. 

July,  1919. 

Bright  midsummer  days  are  now  passing  over  the 
island  in  which  I  have  lived  for  roughly  three-quar- 
ters of  a  year. 

Three-quarters  of  a  year  in  which  the  closely  cir- 
cumscribed space  and  its  inhabitants  have  become 
dear  to  me;  in  which  the  vast  silence  and  the  sky 
and  the  sea,  the  privacy  and  the  seclusion  have 
brought  me  much  that  I  had  never  before  possessed 
— change  and  ripening  in  my  own  nature,  changes  in 
my  views  and  judgments  on  the  things  that  lie  be- 
hind, around  and  before  me.  It  is  not  inactive 
revery  with  me,  for  each  day  is  filled  up  from  morn- 
ing till  night  with  letter-writing,  with  my  reminis- 
cences, diaries,  reading,  music,  sketching  and  sport. 

I  am  not  unhappy  in  my  loneliness,  and  I  almost 
believe  that  to  be  due  to  all  the  unstifled  desire  to 
produce  which  is  still  unreleased  within  me  and 
makes  me  hope  in  spite  of  everything — makes  me 
hope  that  the  future  will  somehow  open  up  the  pos- 
sibility of  my  laboring  as  a  German  for  the  German 
Fatherland. 

Anxieties  as  to  the  pending  extradition  wishes  of 
the  Entente?  That  is  a  question  constantly  re- 
peated in  the  letters  sent  by  good  people  at  home 
and  I  can  only  repeat  as  often :  No,  that  really  will 
not  turn  my  hair  gray. 


102    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

I  have  a  longing  for  home,  for  my  mfe,  for  my 
children.  Often  it  comes  over  me  suddenly,  through 
some  accidental  word,  through  a  recollection,  a 
picture.  Recently,  as  I  had  just  got  out  my  violin 
and  was  about  to  play  a  bit,  I  couldn't  bring  my- 
self to  do  so,  the  yearning  had  got  such  a  hold  of  me. 

And  then  at  night !  The  windows  are  wide  open, 
and  one  can  hear  the  distant  plash  of  the  sea  and 
often  the  deep  lowing  of  the  cattle  in  the  pastures. 
Heinrich  Heine  says  somewhere:  "Denk'  ich  an 
Deutschland  in  der  Nacht,  bin  ich  um  meinen 
Schlaf  gebracht." 

In  the  June  days  just  gone  by,  came  the  news 
that  the  Versailles  "Diktat"  had  been  signed.  The 
Peace  Treaty!  The  word  will  scarcely  flow  from 
my  pen,  when  I  think  of  this  chastising  rod,  this 
birch  that  blind  revenge  has  bound  for  us  there, 
this  closely  woven  network  of  chains  into  which 
our  poor  Fatherland  has  been  cast.  Preposterous 
demands,  that  even  with  the  very  best  intentions 
no  one  can  fulfil!  Brutal  threats  of  strangulation 
in  the  event  of  any  failure  of  strength!  Withal, 
unexampled  stupidity — a  document  that  perpetuates 
hatred  and  bitterness,  where  only  liberation  from 
the  pressure  of  the  past  years  and  new  faith  in  one 
another  could  unite  the  peoples  into  a  fresh  and 
peacefully  reconstructive  community. 

There  remains  only  trust  in  the  oft-tried  energy 
and  capacity  of  the  German  himself  who,  when 
time  after  time  gruesome  fate  has  led  him  through 


MATRIMONIAL  103 

darkness  and  the  depths,  has  found  the  way  up  to 
the  light  again;  and  there  remains,  too,  the  great 
truth  of  all  world  experience  that  presumption,  in  the 
end,  goes  to  pieces  of  itself. 

Poverty-stricken,  Germany  and  the  German 
people  go  to  meet  the  future.  The  wicked  treaty, 
that  rests  upon  the  question  of  war  guilt  as  upon 
a  huge  lie,  has  torn  from  them  colonies,  provinces, 
and  ships.  Workshops  are  destroyed,  intellectual 
achievements  stolen,  competition  in  wide  spheres  of 
activity  violently  throttled.  The  treaty  prepares 
for  Germany  the  bitterest  humiliation;  it  purposes 
to  strangle  and  destroy  her  in  unappeased  hate  and 
unabated  terror. 

But,  in  spite  of  it  all,  Germany  will  persist  and 
will  flourish  again;  and  a  time  will  come  when  this 
enforced  pact  will  be  talked  of  only  as  a  stigma  of  a 
bygone  day. 

I  wish  for  the  homeland  tranquillity  and  internal 
peace  in  which  to  get  back  to  its  wonted  self,  in 
which  this  earthly  kingdom — exhausted  by  unheard- 
of  sacrifices  and  damaged  by  the  blows  of  fate — ^may 
recover  its  strength.  And  I  should  like  to  share  in 
its  new  era !  Yet,  the  only  service  I  can  render  to 
my  country  is  to  stand  aside  and  continue  to  bear 
this  exile. 

The  short  space  of  time  during  which  I  was  in- 
trusted with  the  representation  of  the  Kaiser  gave 


104    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

me  a  deeper  insight  than  any  previous  period  of 
my  life  into  the  mechanism  of  his  technical  Govern- 
ment labors,  into  the  manner  in  which  he  was  kept 
informed  by  the  various  officials  and  into  the  dis- 
posal of  his  time.  Although,  from  years  of  cursory 
observation,  I  was  fairly  familiar  with  the  outlines 
of  this  mechanism,  I  clearly  remember  that  the 
closer  acquaintance  I  now  made  with  its  structure 
filled  me  with  the  greatest  amazement.  That  I 
speak  of  it  here  with  unreserved  candor  is  evidence 
that  I  do  not  regard  my  father  as  ultimately  and 
solely  responsible  for  this  state  of  affairs.  If  you 
remove  the  mask  of  monarchy,  the  Kaiser  is,  by 
nature,  simple  in  his  character;  and  if  he  allowed 
these  evils  to  arise  about  him,  his  share  in  them  was 
due  partly  to  the  out-of-date  upbringing  caused  by 
an  old-fashioned  conception  of  the  royal  dignity,  and 
still  more  to  his  innate  adaptability  to  the  arrange- 
ments of  his  environment  and  to  his  renunciation 
of  that  simplicity  and  directness  which  might  better 
have  become  his  deepest  nature.  As  a  consequence, 
there  developed,  little  by  little,  out  of  the  zeal  dis- 
played by  those  around  him  for  the  pettiest  affairs, 
a  vast  ceremonial  that  robbed  the  simplest  pro- 
ceedings of  their  naturalness,  that  removed  every 
little  stone  against  which  the  monarch  might  have 
struck  his  foot,  and  that  strove  to  drown  every 
whisper  which  might  have  been  disagreeable  to  his 
ear.    In  the  course  of  decades,  this  system  deprived 


MATRIMONIAL  105 

the  Kaiser  more  and  more  of  his  capacity  to  meet 
hard  realities  with  a  firm,  resolute  and  tenacious 
perseverance. 

How  can  a  man,  accustomed  to  expect  as  a  matter 
of  course  the  spreading  of  a  carpet  before  his  feet 
for  every  step  he  takes,  maintain  himself  when  he 
is  suddenly  confronted  with  really  serious  conflicts 
in  which  nothing  can  help  him  but  his  own  resolu- 
tion? 

Time  seemed  to  be  no  object  in  ceremonial  affairs; 
yet  often  none  could  be  found  for  questions  that 
demanded  serious  and  calm  consideration. 

Not  only  for  me,  but  for  many  a  minister  and  state 
secretary,  it  was  often  quite  a  feat  to  break  through 
the  protective  ring  of  zealous  gentlemen  who  wished 
to  prevent  His  Majesty  from  being  "worried"  with 
troublesome  affairs  and  to  save  him  from  overfa- 
tigue and  annoyance.  Even  when  the  ring  was 
pierced,  one  had  not,  by  any  means,  gained  one's 
point;  I  remember  many  a  case  in  which  one  or  the 
other  "Excellency"  who  had  come  to  report  to  the 
Kaiser  on  a  certain  burning  question,  returned  home- 
ward with  an  admirable  impression  of  the  anima- 
tion, the  vigor  and  the  communicativeness  of  His 
Majesty,  and  possibly  with  enriched  knowledge  con- 
cerning some  sphere  of  research  or  technology,  but 
without  having  unburdened  himself  of  the  burning 
question  with  which  he  came.  Any  one  who  failed 
to  proceed,  more  or  less  inconsiderately,  with  his  re- 


106    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

port,  might  well  find  himself  listening  instead  to  a 
report  of  the  Kaiser's  on  the  subject  in  hand  based 
upon  preconceived  notions;  the  would-be  adviser 
would  then  be  dismissed  without  ever  having  found 
an  opportunity  of  stating  his  own  views. 

I  have  already  hinted  that  the  Imperial  Chancery 
prepared  for  the  Kaiser  a  filtration  of  public  opinion 
in  the  form  of  press  cuttings.  The  preparation  of 
this  material  appeared  to  me  to  be  influenced  too 
much  by  the  desire  to  exclude  the  disagreeable  and 
even  the  minatory — to  be  pleasant  rather  than 
thorough.  Many  things,  therefore,  that  ought  to 
have  come  under  the  Kaiser's  eyes,  even  if  they  were 
not  exactly  gratifying,  were  never  seen  by  him.  In 
much  the  same  plane  lay  the  consular  reports.  They 
were  often  nothing  more  than  amusing  chats  and 
feuilletons.  When  these  "political  reports"  passed 
through  my  hands  in  1908,  I  missed  any  clear  judg- 
ment of  the  situation,  any  sharply  defined  presen- 
tation or  positive  suggestion. 

A  favorable  exception  among  the  communications 
sent  in  by  our  representatives  abroad  was  to  be 
found  in  the  reports  of  the  naval  commanders. 
They  were  evidently  drawn  up  by  men  whose  eyes 
had  been  trained  to  look  broadly  at  the  world,  to  see 
things  as  they  really  are  and  to  form  a  just  estima- 
tion of  the  whole;  they  manifested  calm  and  objec- 
tive criticism  and  furnished  cautious  and  far-sighted 
suggestions. 


MATRIMONIAL  107 

August,  1919. 

The  last  few  days  have  brought  me  again  one  or 
two  welcome  visitors  from  the  homeland — above 
all,  excellent  Major  Beck,  to  whom  I  am  attached 
by  so  many  hard  experiences  shared  in  the  army. 
Hours  and  hours  were  spent  in  taking  long  walks 
and  sitting  together — sometimes  talking,  sometimes 
silent.  And  during  those  hours,  the  prodigious  strug- 
gle of  the  past  came  vividly  before  me  again — espe- 
cially the  last  anguish  that  followed  our  failure  at 
Rheims,  the  unceasing  decay  of  energy  and  con- 
fidence, and  then  the  end. 

A  few  Dutch  families  have  also  been  to  see  me; 
and  Ilsemann  came  over  from  Amerongen,  and  had 
much  to  tell  me  about  my  dear  mother;  she  suffers 
severely,  is  physically  ill,  but  will  not  give  way;  she 
knows  only  one  thought,  namely,  the  welfare  of  my 
father  and  of  us  all,  and  has  only  one  wish,  which 
is  to  lighten  for  us  what  we  have  to  bear. 

But  the  best  visit  is  still  to  come.  My  wife  and 
the  children  are  to  spend  a  short  time  with  me  here 
on  the  island.  How  we  shall  manage  with  such 
limited  room  and  such  a  lack  of  every  accommoda- 
tion I  don't  know  myself — ^but  we  shall  do  it  some- 
how. It  was  touching  to  see  the  ready  proffers  of 
help  that  were  made  on  the  mere  report  of  my  ex- 
pecting my  wife  and  children.  Not  only  on  the 
island — where  every  one  now  likes  me  and  where 
the  Frisian  reserve  has  long  given  place  to  hearty 


108    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

participation  in  my  joys  and  sorrows — but  from 
yonder  on  the  mainland  also. 

In  a  day  or  two,  Miildner,  my  untiring  and  faith- 
ful companion  in  this  solitude,  is  to  go  to  Amsterdam 
to  do  some  shopping  and  other  errands.  In  one  of 
the  rooms,  the  wall-paper  is  to  be  renewed;  all  sorts 
of  household  utensils  need  supplementing;  and 
Amsterdam  friends  are  going  to  lend  me  furniture. 
The  parsonage  is  to  become  more  respectable;  in 
its  present  condition,  it  would  really  be  quite  im- 
possible for  it  to  lodge  a  lady.  These  capital  people 
of  mine  are  working  feverishly. 

But  to  get  back  to  my  subject.  I  stopped  at  my 
recollections  of  our  foreign  policy  in  the  years  prior 
to  the  war.  Closely  connected  with  it  were  our  home 
politics.  Here,  too,  we  suffered  from  the  same  lack 
of  resolution,  firmness  and  foresight.  People  fixed 
their  eyes  upon  the  things  of  to-day  instead  of  on 
those  of  to-morrow.  Hence,  o^ly  half-measures  were 
taken,  and  everybody  was  dissatisfied. 

Ever  since  I  began  to  concern  myself  with  politics, 
I  have  become  more  and  more  convinced  that  our 
home  policy  should  develop  along  more  liberal  lines. 
It  was  clear  to  me  that  one  could  no  longer  govern 
on  the  principles  of  Frederick  the  Great — still  less 
by  outwardly  imitating  his  manner.  Just  as  little 
could  I  sympathize  with  the  continually  yielding 
and  generally  belated  manner  in  which  our  liberal 
reforms  were  carried  out.     The  almost  systematic 


MATRIMONIAL  109 

method  of  first  refusing  altogether  and  then  finding 
oneself  obliged  to  grant  a  part  of  what  was  de- 
manded appeared  to  me  .doubtful  and  dangerous. 
A  foresighted  and  properly  timed  liberal  _  policy- 
ought  to  have  been  able  to  reject  inordinate  wishes 
from  whatever  quarter  they  came,  and  thus  to  main- 
tain a  just  balance  of  forces  for  the  welfare  of  the 
whole.  Such  government  would  also  have  been  able 
to  reckon  with  a  certain  constancy  of  parliamentary 
grouping.  But  after  the  collapse  of  the  Biilow  bloc 
— which  certainly,  in  itself,  presented  no  very  great 
attractions — the  only  policy  we  had  was  Bethmann's 
"governing  over  the  heads  of  the  parties,"  with  its 
convulsive  formation  of  majorities  from  case  to 
case  and  its  silencing  of  the  minorities. 

In  so  far  as  they  could  be  fitted  into  the  historic- 
ally determined  development  of  the  State,  the  polit- 
ical and  economic  aims  of  the  social  democratic 
party  as  the  representative  of  a  large  portion  of 
organized  labor,  ought  to  have  been  taken  into  con- 
sideration unequivocally  and  without  any  miscon- 
struction or  suffocation  of  what  was  possible;  though 
the  Government  had  no  cause  and  no  right  to  allow 
themselves  to  be  pushed  or  driven  in  every  ques- 
tion. 

In  its  ideological  endeavors  to  entice  the  social 
democrats  away  from  their  policy  of  negation  into 
the  sphere  of  productive  co-operation  and  in  its 
misconception  of  the  fact  that,  for  purely  tactical 


no    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

reasons,  the  social  democrats  of  that  period  would 
not  give  up  their  policy  of  opposition  within  the 
then  existing  constitution,  Bethmann's  Government 
allowed  itself  to  be  exploited  and  weakened  by  the 
extraordinarily  well-managed  and  well-disciplined 
social  democratic  party.  To  the  other  parties  little 
attention  was  paid.  Moreover,  the  fact  was  alto- 
gether overlooked  that,  in  their  humane  and  pro- 
gressive spirit,  the  social  legislation  in  the  care  for 
workmen  in  Germany  was  already  a  very  long  way 
ahead  of  all  measures  of  the  kind  in  other  countries 
and  that  this  great  work  had  been  ardently  pro- 
moted by  the  Kaiser.  As  in  its  attitude  towards 
the  opposition  so  in  the  Polish  and  Alsace-Lorraine 
questions,  the  policy  of  the  Government  was  un- 
certain, being  almost  invariably  harsh  where  it  ought 
to  have  been  yielding  and  yielding  where  it  ought 
to  have  been  firm.  Absolutely  nothing  was  done 
in  the  way  of  economic  mobilization  to  meet  the 
eventuality  of  war,  although  there  could  be  no  doubt 
that,  if  an  ultima  ratio  ensued,  England  would  at 
once  endeavor  to  cut  us  off  from  every  oversea  com- 
munication and  that,  in  respect  to  foodstuffs  and 
raw  materials  of  every  kind,  we  should  be  thrown 
on  our  own  stocks  and  resources. 

As  in  all  problems  of  foreign  policy,  so  again  in 
this  question,  the  only  man  in  the  Government  who 
showed  any  understanding  for  my  fears  and  anxie- 
ties was  Admiral  von  Tirpitz. 


MATRIMONIAL  111 

In  the  eight  years'  chancellorship  of  Herr  von 
Bethmann  HoUweg  I  over  and  over  again  took  the 
opportunity  of  talking  to  him  about  the  attitude  of 
the  Government  towards  foreign  and  home  affairs. 
Here,  in  one  and  the  same  sentence  in  which  I  write 
that  I  always  found  him  to  be  high-principled  in 
thought  and  action  and  a  man  of  irreproachable 
honor,  I  would  state  that  we  were  not  friends,  and 
that  an  impassable  chasm  lay  between  his  mentality 
and  my  own.  In  the  post  for  which  we  ought  to 
have  desired  the  best,  the  boldest,  the  most  far- 
sighted  and  the  wisest  of  statesmen,  there  stood  a 
bureaucrat  of  sluggish  and  irresolute  character,  his 
mind  in  a  revery  of  weary  and  resigned  cosmopoli- 
tanism and  tranquil  acceptance  of  immutable 
developments.  People  liked  to  call  him  the  "Phi- 
losopher of  Hohensinow."  I  never  succeeded  in 
discovering  a  trace  of  philosophic  wisdom  in  the 
languid  nature  of  this  man  who  dropped  so  easily 
into  tactless  fatalism  and  who  qualified  even  an 
upward  flight  with  the  motto  of  "divinely  ordained 
dependency.'*  His  hesitating  heart  had  no  wings, 
his  will  was  joyless,  his  resolve  was  lame. 

This  man,  eternally  vacillating  in  his  decisions 
and  oppressed  by  any  contact  with  natures  of  a 
fresher  hue,  was  certainly  not  the  suitable  persona- 
ality,  in  the  years  prior  to  the  war, — ^least  of  all  in 
the  three  that  immediately  preceded  its  outbreak — 
to  represent  German  policy  against  the  energetic, 


112    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

resolute,  quick-witted  and  inexorable  men  whom 
England  and  France  had  selected  as  exponents  of 
their  power. 

Even  in  the  days  when  I  was  attached  to  the 
various  ministries  for  purposes  of  study,  many  peo- 
ple of  excellent  judgment  told  me  that  it  was  easy 
to  discuss  questions  with  Bethmann,  but  the  disap- 
pointing thing  about  it  was  that  one  never  reached 
any  conclusive  result;  for,  whatever  the  seemingly 
final  outcome  might  be,  he  had,  after  musing  for  a 
while,  one  more  sentence  to  utter,  and  that  sentence 
began  with  the  word  ''nevertheless."  This  word 
"nevertheless"  stands  for  me  like  a  motto  above 
Herr  von  Bethmann  Hollweg's  political  career. 

On  one  single  occasion  I  allowed  myself  to  be 
swept  into  a  marked  demonstration  against  him  be- 
fore the  whole  world,  and  I  readily  admit  that  this 
public  utterance  of  my  opinion  would  have  been 
better  left  unmanifested.  It  will  be  remembered 
that,  in  the  Reichstag  sitting  of  November  9,  1911, 
I  gave  clear  expression  to  my  approval  of  the  speeches 
hurled  against  Herr  von  Bethmann's  and  Kiderlen- 
Wachter's,  at  first  galling  and  afterwards  retracting, 
policy  in  the  Morocco  affair,  which  had  brought  us 
a  severe  diplomatic  check.  At  the  time,  the  press 
of  the  left  hastened  to  stigmatize  me  as  a  batter- 
ing-ram of  extravagant  and  bellicose  pan-German 
ideas.  Nothing  of  the  kind!  The  case  was  quite 
different!    The  drastic  methods  of  Kiderlen,  the 


MATRIMONIAL  113 

wanton  provocation  implied  by  the  despatch  of  the 
** Panther"  to  Agadir  was  just  as  disagreeable  to  me 
as  the  hasty  retreat  which  followed  Lloyd  George's 
threats  in  his  Mansion  House  speech:  both  bore  evi- 
dence of  the  groping  uncertainty  of  our  leadership,  a 
leadership  which  failed  to  see  how  sadly  the  first 
step  affected  the  mentality  of  the  other  side  and 
how  much  the  second  impaired  our  prestige  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world.  Thus,  it  was  from  the  feeling 
that  political  tension  had  risen  to  fever-heat  that, 
on  that  9th  of  November,  1911,  I  spontaneously  ap- 
plauded those  speeches  which  were  directed  against 
the  feeble  and  oscillating  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

What  a  curious  part  coincidence  plays  in  our 
affairs!  Once  again  the  9th  of  November  stands 
marked  in  the  book  of  my  remembrances — ^three 
years  after  the  great  Reichstag  storm  concerning  the 
Kaiser  interview  of  the  Daily  Telegraph  and  seven 
years  to  the  day  before  the  last  act  of  the  collapse 
in  Berlin  and  Spa!  A  discussion  of  the  incident 
soon  followed — on  the  same  evening,  as  a  matter 
of  fact. 

To  begin  with,  the  Kaiser  admonished  me.  All 
right. 

Then  I  gave  vent  to  my  thoughts  and  feelings; 
and  I  blurted  out  all  my  fears  for  the  future,  my 
wishes  for  the  suppression  of  a  shilly-shally  policy. 
I  spoke  without  the  slightest  reserve; — and  once 


114    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

more  I  was  forced  to  note  the  fact  that  the  Kaiser 
could  not  listen. 

In  the  end  we  dined  together  in  a  not  particularly 
talkative  mood. 

Then,  at  His  Majesty's  request  and  in  his  pres- 
ence, Bethmann,  who,  withal,  was  once  again  highly 
interesting  and  to  the  point,  gave  me,  the  "fron- 
deur,"  a  long  lecture  which  failed  to  convince  me. 

Politics,  even  high  politics,  are  not  an  occult  sci- 
ence. The  times  are  dead  and  gone  in  which  they 
could  be  conducted  with  Mettemichian  ruses.  They 
can  nowadays  dispense  with  apergus  of  speech  and 
with  the  jabot  of  the  Viennese  Congress  just  as  well 
as  with  the  monocle  of  a  later  epoch  of  development. 
But  they  presuppose,  besides  all  the  obvious  and 
the  leamable,  a  few  such  things  as  practical  com- 
mon sense  to  reduce  all  their  problems  to  the  sim- 
plest formulae,  knowledge  of  human  character  and 
an  eye  for  the  general  mentality  of  the  peoples  with 
whom  one  has  to  reckon. 

Herr  von  Bethmann  Hollweg — ^who,  by  the  way, 
knew  scarcely  anything  of  foreign  countries — ^pos- 
sessed none  of  these  things;  and  neither  Kiderlen- 
Wachter  nor  Secretary  of  State  Jagow  was  the  man 
to  fill  the  gap  with  his  intellectual  talents. 

True,  there  were,  in  our  diplomacy,  men  of  quite 
another  category,  who  thought  broadly  and  saw 
clearly;  but  people  were  content  to  know  that  they 
filled  posts  abroad  where  their  voices  could  be  heard 


MATRIMONIAL  115 

but  where  their  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  for- 
eign politics  was  bound  to  remain  very  slight.  I 
entertain  not  the  least  doubt  that  such  men  as 
Wangenheim  and  Marschall — even  Mont  and  Met- 
temich — ^would  have  understood  how  to  give  a 
timely  turn  to  our  foreign  policy  so  as  to  conduct  it 
into  the  proper  and  the  constant  way. 

Just  this  very  Herr  von  Kiderlen  used  to  be 
praised  by  Bethmann  as  the  great  political  light 
from  the  East.  Personally,  too,  I  myself  liked  this 
agreeably  natural  and  courageous  Swabian,  despite 
his  panther-like  leap  into  the  china-shop  of  Agadir. 
But  his  special  suitability  for  the  highly  important 
post  of  foreign  secretary  did  not  strike  me,  the 
more  so  as  he  entirely  lacked  the  most  important 
quality  for  such  a  position,  namely,  the  capacity  to 
see  things  from  the  point  of  view  of  others.  He 
not  only  utterly  failed  to  consider  the  mentality  of 
France  and  England,  but  he  did  not  even  appreciate 
the  political  tendencies  of  Roumania,  the  country  in 
which,  for  ten  years,  he  had  charge  of  Gennany's 
interests. 

That  sounds  almost  like  a  bad  joke,  and  it  is, 
after  all,  only  an  example  of  what  a  poor  reader  of 
character  the  chancellor  himself  was  and  how  lim- 
ited was  the  horizon  of  his  staff  at  the  Foreign  Office. 

But  it  is  incumbent  upon  me  to  furnish  evidence 
for  my  views  as  to  Herr  von  Kiderlen's  knowledge 
of  Roumania.    On  returning  from  my  Roumanian 


116    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

travels  in  April,  1909, 1  told  my  father  I  had  received 
the  impression  that  there  was  only  one  person  in 
Roumania  who  was  friendly  to  us,  namely,  King 
Carol  himself.  The  leading  political  circles,  who 
were  only  waiting  for  the  decease  of  the  aged  King, 
were  thoroughly  and  firmly  under  French  and  Rus- 
sian influence.  The  sympathies  of  the  Crown  Prin- 
cess were  directed  towards  England,  and  the  Crown 
Prince  was  very  much  under  her  influence.  Conse- 
quently, I  could  not  help  thinking  that,  in  the  event 
of  war,  Roumania  would  fail  her  allies,  even  if  she 
did  not  go  over  to  the  other  party  altogether.  His 
Majesty  sent  me  to  the  secretary  for  foreign  affairs 
in  Wilhelmstrasse  to  report  my  impressions.  Herr 
von  Kiderlen-Wachter  listened  with  complaisant 
superiority  and  smiled.  He  thought  I  must  be  mis- 
taken; believed  I  must  have  had  a  bad  dream;  the 
whole  of  Roumania,  with  which  he  was  as  familiar 
as  with  his  own  hat  ("wie  sei'  Weste'  tasch'  ")  was, 
to  the  backbone,  our  sterling  ally.  ''Sozusage'  miin- 
delsicher!"  Soon  afterwards,  we  had  to  experience 
the  trend  of  events  which  followed  upon  King  Carol's 
death. 

But,  after  all,  what  is  the  false  estimate  of  Rou- 
mania in  comparison  with  the  erroneous  conception 
formed  by  Herr  von  Bethmann  Hollweg  and  his 
Excellency  von  Jagow  concerning  the  attitude  of 
England?  They  remained  hoodwinked  in  the  mat- 
ter until,  in  August,  1914,  Sir  Edward  Goschen  tore 


MATRIMONIAL  117 

the  bandage  from  the  chancellor's  dismayed  and 
horror-struck  eyes. 

Because — be  it  said  to  his  credit — he  had  repeat- 
edly made  mild  and  inadequate  attempts  at  a  rap- 
prochement with  England  without  encountering  any 
notable  opposition,  and  because  he  knew  that  Eng- 
land had  repeatedly  stated  in  Paris  that  she  de- 
sired to  avoid  a  provocative  policy  and  did  not  wish 
to  participate  in  a  war  called  forth  by  France, 
Bethmann  imagined  that  the  rapprochement  had 
thriven  to  such  an  extent  as  to  preclude  England's 
joining  in  war  against  us  at  all.  But  the  last  effort 
made  in  the  year  1912  by  inviting  Lord  Haldane,  the 
minister  of  war,  to  come  to  Berlin,  had  also  been 
a  failure.  It  had  failed  because,  meantime,  the  re- 
lations of  England  to  France  and  thereby  to  Russia 
had  become  too  intimate;  so  that  even  the  great 
sacrifice  which  Admiral  von  Tirpitz  declared  himself 
prepared  to  make  in  the  question  of  the  Navy  Bill 
in  exchange  for  a  British  neutrality  clause  was  in- 
effective. England  was  determined  to  maintain  her 
"two  keels  for  one"  standard  under  all  circum- 
stances. Sir  Edward  Grey  declined  to  enter  into 
any  engagement  on  account  of  "existing  friendship 
for  other  powers";  and  therewith  matters  became 
clear  to  any  one  who  had  eyes  to  see. 

Nor  did  Haldane  make  any  secret  of  England's 
attitude  in  the  event  of  war  with  France  and  Rus- 
sia; as  the  Kaiser  told  me  himself  later,  Haldane 


118    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

informed  our  ambassador,  Prince  Lichnowsky,  in  a 
visit  concerning  political  questions,  that  under  the 
suppositions  stated  and  irrespective  of  what  party 
might  set  the  ball  rolling,  his  Government  could  not 
agree  to  a  defeat  of  France  by  us  and  a  consequent 
domination  of  Germany  on  the  Continent.  They 
would  intervene  in  favor  of  the  powers  allied  with 
England. 

That,  in  spite  of  this  fact,  the  gentlemen  at  the 
Foreign  Office  and  above  all  the  minister  responsible 
for  our  foreign  policy  continued  to  live  on  calmly 
and  self-complaisantly  in  their  world  of  dreams  dur- 
ing those  perilous  and  menacing  times  one  finds  it 
difficult  to  understand.  The  ears  of  our  politicians 
had  caught  up  the  voices  from  Paris  in  which  they 
heard  England's  desire  for  peace  and  they  allowed 
themselves  to  be  misled  by  the  alluring  idea  that 
England  would  maintain  peace  in  Europe  in  any 
circumstances;  they  assumed  that  the  serious,  warn- 
ing words  spoken  by  Lord  Haldane  in  London  were 
intended  solely  to  prevent  a  breach  of  peace  on  the 
part  of  Germany. 

I  have  again  run  off  the  track  of  my  story;  it 
seems  that  I  cannot  even  make  a  chronicle  of  the 
affairs.  But  I  must  try  to  take  up  the  thread 
again. 

Down  to  the  year  1909,  I  had  visited,  sometimes 
alone  and  sometimes  in  my  father's  suite,  England, 


MATRIMONIAL  119 

Holland,  Italy,  Egypt,  Greece,  Turkey  and  a  few 
districts  of  Asia  Minor.  My  stay  in  these  countries 
had  always  been  relatively  short,  but  had  sufficed  to 
provide  me  with  valuable  opportunities  of  com- 
parison and  to  convince  me  of  the  necessity  for  see- 
ing more  of  the  world. 

It  was,  therefore,  a  great  satisfaction  to  my  de- 
sire for  further  knowledge  when,  in  1909,  my  father 
consented  to  my  undertaking  an  extensive  tour  in 
the  Far  East.  My  wife  accompanied  me  as  far  as 
Ceylon  and  then  went  to  Egypt;  while  I  proceeded 
to  travel  through  India.  The  British  Government 
had  prepared  for  my  journey  in  the  most  friendly 
way;  so  that  I  really  obtained  a  great  deal  of  in- 
formation. In  every  detail  and  everywhere  I  went, 
I  met  with  the  greatest  hospitality.  I  recall  with 
special  pleasure  Lord  Hardinge,  Sir  Harold  Stuart, 
Sir  John  Havitt  and  Sir  Roos-Keppel.  The  Ma- 
harajah of  Dschaipur  and  the  Nisam  of  Hyderabad 
also  provided  me  with  a  splendid  reception. 

In  India  my  love  of  hunting  and  sport  found  all 
that  my  heart  could  desire.  The  magnificence  of 
Indian  landscape  and  of  Indian  architecture  opened 
up  a  new  world  to  me.  The  profusion  of  experiences 
of  all  kinds  presented  to  me  I  welcomed  with  all  the 
susceptibility  and  power  of  enjoyment  of  my  youth; 
I  wished  to  devote  myself  unrestrictedly  to  all  that 
was  great  and  novel,  and  I  sometimes  forgot,  per- 
haps, that  people  expected  to  find  in  me  the  son 


120    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

of  the  German  Emperor  and  the  great-grandson 
of  the  Queen. 

Of  all  the  impressions  I  received  the  greatest  and 
most  lasting  was  that  made  upon  me  by  the  organ- 
izing and  administrative  talent  of  the  English.  It 
struck  me,  too,  as  a  noticeable  peculiarity,  that,  in 
the  various  branches  of  administration,  compara- 
tively very  young  officials  were  employed,  but  that 
they  were  energetic  and  were  invested  with  great 
independence  and  responsibility.  Extensive  and 
healthy  decentralization  prevailed  generally.  Every- 
where I  was  impressed  by  the  vast  power  of  Eng- 
land, whose  magnitude  was,  before  the  war,  fre- 
quently and  considerably  undervalued  in  Germany 
intoxicated  as  she  was  with  her  own  rapid  rise. 

But  it  became  just  as  clear  to  me  how  enormous 
was  the  competition  which  Germany  created  for  the 
British  in  the  emporiums  of  the  Far  East.  Thus, 
many  an  English  merchant  told  me,  in  confidential 
talk,  that  it  could  not  go  as  it  was — England  could 
not  and  would  not  allow  herself  to  be  pushed  to  the 
wall  by  us.  I  myself,  during  the  sea  voyage,  no- 
ticed that  we  met  about  as  many  German  merchant 
vessels  as  British  ones.  Moreover,  the  muttered 
curse,  "Those  damned  Germans!"  occasionally 
reached  my  ear. 

Omens  of  a  gathering  storm ! 

When,  later  on,  I  talked  of  these  observations  to 
the  responsible  parties  at  home,  the  warning  was 


MATRIMONIAL  121 

treated  very  light-heartedly.  That  some  English 
shopkeeper  or  another  swore  when  we  spoiled  his 
business  for  him  didn't  matter  in  the  least;  the  man 
should  give  up  his  "week-end"  and  work  the  way 
our  people  did,  then  he  would  have  no  need  to 
swear.  Besides  we  really  wanted  to  live  in  peace 
with  those  gentlemen.  "And  Your  Imperial  High- 
ness has  seen  for  yourself  how  you  were  received 
there."  Thus,  there  was  not  much  to  be  done.  I, 
for  my  part,  knew  that  the  "shopkeeper"  was  Eng- 
land herself,  that  no  one  over  there  was  willing  to 
sacrifice  his  week-end  and  that  my  reception  was  an 
act  of  international  courtesy  and  nothing  more. 
The  will  to  live  at  peace  with  others  has  only  a  sig- 
nificance if  one  knows  and  adopts  the  means  by 
which  that  peace  may  be  realized. 

After  my  return  and  in  pursuance  of  His  Ma- 
jesty's commands,  I  visited  with  my  wife  the  courts 
of  Rome,  Vienna,  St.  Petersburg  and  St.  James — 
the  last  on  the  occasion  of  the  coronation. 

Everywhere  we  met  with  the  most  friendly  per- 
sonal reception;  but  everywhere,  too,  appeared 
warning  signs  of  the  conflict  and  danger  which  were 
gathering  ominously  around  the  realm. 

The  journey  to  England  we  performed  on  board 
the  new  and  heavily  armored  cruiser  "Von  der 
Tann."  This  excellently  constructed  vessel  aroused 
the  utmost  excitement  in  England.  During  the 
great  naval  review  in  the  Solent,  it  was  interesting 


122    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

to  observe  the  British  marine  officers  and  sailors 
devoting  the  greatest  attention  to  our  **Von  der 
Tann.**  For  the  war  vessels  of  other  nations  they 
displayed  not  the  slightest  interest.  Their  judgment 
culminated  in  unbounded  praise  of  the  wonderful 
lines  of  the  ship  and  of  the  practical  distribution  of 
the  guns. 

During  the  coronation  festivities  in  London,  the 
reception  accorded  me  and  my  wife  by  all  classes 
of  the  population  was  exceptionally  cordial.  The 
English  press  also  welcomed  us  warmly;  and  during 
those  days  we  noticed  nothing  of  the  hatred  of  Ger- 
many. But  if  an  eloquent  illustration  were  needed 
of  how  misleading  it  is  to  draw  conclusions  from  the 
signs  of  sympathy  shown  towards  Princes  and  heirs- 
apparent,  such  an  illustration  is  to  be  found  in  an 
experience  of  our  own.  It  has  hung  a  signum  vani- 
talis  in  my  memory. 

As  King  George  and  Queen  Mary  at  the  close  of 
the  coronation  ceremony  left  Westminster  Abbey, 
spontaneous  cheers  rose  from  the  assembly.  Imme- 
diately afterwards,  the  foreign  Princes  moved  down 
the  gigantic  church,  and,  as  the  Crown  Princess  and 
I  reached  the  middle  of  the  nave,  the  same  spon- 
taneous cheers  that  had  greeted  the  King  and 
Queen  were  accorded  us.  Afterwards  I  was  told 
by  English  people  that  I  might  be  "proud  of  my- 
self"; for  never  before  in  the  history  of  England 
had  a  foreign  princely  couple  received  such  an  ova- 


MATRIMONIAL  123 

tion  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Four  years  later  we 
were  at  war;  four  years  later,  the  man  whom  they 
then  cheered  had  become  a  "hun." 

Here  I  should  like  to  mention  an  incident  in  my 
London  sojourn  which  casts  a  light  on  the  ideas  of 
a  leading  English  statesman  of  that  day.  The  for- 
eign secretary,  Sir  Edward  Grey,  was  introduced 
to  me,  and,  in  the  course  of  the  thoroughly  animated 
conversation  which  ensued,  I  made  the  incautious 
remark,  that,  in  my  opinion  and  with  a  view  to  the 
certainty  of  peace,  it  would  be  far  and  away  the 
wisest  thing  for  Germany  and  England,  the  two 
greatest  Teutonic  nations — ^the  strongest  land  power 
and  the  strongest  sea  power — to  co-operate;  they 
could  then  moreover  (if  need  be)  divide  the  world 
between  them.  Grey  listened,  nodded  and  said: 
"Yes,  true,  but  England  does  not  wish  to  divide 
with  anybody — ^not  even  with  Germany." 

In  Vienna,  the  then  heir-apparent,  Francis  Ferdi- 
nand, spoke  with  me  very  earnestly  and  very  anx- 
iously about  the  dangerous  Serbian  propaganda;  he 
foresaw  an  early  European  conflict  in  these  intrigues 
that  Russia  was  fanning.  I  had,  for  a  long  time, 
been  watching  with  discomfort  the  growing  depen- 
dence of  our  Near  East  policy  upon  the  ideas  of 
the  Vienna  Ballplatz;  consequently  the  remarks  of 
the  Archduke  raised  in  my  mind  grave  doubts 
as  to  this  shifting  of  our  political  focus  from  Ber- 
lin to  Vienna;    these  doubts  continued  to  worry 


124    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

me  from  that  day  onward,  but  the  unreserved  ex- 
pression I  gave  to  them,  both  in  the  Foreign  Office 
and  in  the  presence  of  individual  representatives  of 
our  diplomatic  service,  was  all  in  vain.  The  fears 
that  the  Reich  would  some  day  become  fatally  de- 
pendent upon  the  superior  diplomacy  of  Austria- 
Hungary,  as  expressed  with  such  anxious  prescience 
by  Prince  Bismarck  in  his  last  memoirs,  seemed  to 
me  to  have  long  ago  found  their  fulfilment.  In  the 
Vienna  Belvedere,  under  the  influence  of  the 
strangely  suggestive  words  of  this  dangerously  am- 
bitious Archduke, —  who  was  prepared  to  act  an  any- 
thing but  modest  part  and  who  was  as  clever  as  he 
was  ruthless, — ^the  definite  feeling  came  over  me  that, 
as  a  result  of  this  too  great  dependence,  we  should 
sooner  or  later  become  involved  in  a  conflict  brought 
about  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  ambitions  of 
the  Austro-Hungarian  dynasty;  that  the  Archduke 
was  putting  out  feelers  and  developing  ideas  which 
should  enable  him  to  see  what  he  might  expect  from 
me.  Destiny  took  the  game  out  of  the  hands  of 
that  undoubtedly  remarkable  man  and  made  of  him 
the  spark  which  was  to  kindle  the  great  conflagra- 
tion. But,  after  bringing  him  to  a  bloody  end,  it 
spared  us  none  of  the  bitter  effects  of  our  depen- 
dence and  subordination;  the  results  of  the  excessive 
Viennese  demands  upon  Serbia  involved  us  in  the 
war  against  our  will.  On  July  28,  1914,  when  Ser- 
bia had  accepted  almost  all  the  points  of  the  Aus- 


MATRIMONIAL  125 

trian  ultimatum,  my  father  annotated  thus  the 
telegram  which  brought  the  news  of  Serbia's  sub- 
mission:— **A  brilliant  performance  within  a  limit  of 
48  hours.  That  is  more  than  one  could  expect.  A 
great  moral  success  for  Vienna;  but  with  it  disap- 
pears every  reason  for  war,  and  the  Austrian  minis- 
ter, Giesl,  ought  to  have  remained  quietly  in  Bel- 
grade. After  that,  I  should  never  have  ordered  the 
mobilization."  I  quote  this  telegram  and  its  mar- 
ginal notes,  because  they  prove  irrefutably  the 
peaceful  desires  of  Germany  and  the  Kaiser.  They 
prove  the  good-will,  in  spite  of  which  our  destiny — 
bound  to  the  policy  of  the  Vienna  Ballplatz  to  the 
extent  of  vassalage — strode  its  way. 

In  Russia,  where,  as  already  stated,  I  sojourned 
with  my  wife  after  my  Indian  travels,  I  received 
the  impression  that  the  Tsar  was  as  friendly  to  Ger- 
many as  ever,  but  that  he  was  less  able  to  put  his 
friendliness  into  action.  He  was  completely  en- 
meshed by  the  pan-Slav  and  anti-German  party  of 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholai  Nicholaievitch  and  power- 
less to  oppose  that  Prince,  who  made  a  public  ex- 
hibition of  his  hatred  for  Germany. 


CHAPTER  IV 
STRESS  AND  STORM 

September,  1919. 

The  beautiful,  happy  days  are  past  which  I  was 
able  to  spend  here  with  my  dear  wife  and  the  boys, 
the  days  in  which  we  all  wanted  to  enjoy  the  brief 
pleasure  like  simple,  rustic  holiday-makers  and  in 
which  I  purposely  tried  to  forget  that  my  nearest 
and  dearest  were  staying  for  only  a  short  sojourn 
with  a  voluntary  exile. 

By  nature  and  upbringing  I  am  not  sentimental, 
and  I  will  not  lose  myself  in  sentimental  emotions; 
but  I  can  honestly  say  that  the  island  is  more  deso- 
late than  ever,  now  that  I  have  to  go  my  walks  be- 
tween the  pastures,  along  the  irrigation  canals,  up 
the  shore  and  through  the  villages  without  my  wife 
and  without  the  boys.  In  their  childish  way,  the 
little  chaps  found  everything  that  was  strange  and 
new  to  them  here  incomparably  delightful,  thought 
it  all  a  thousand  times  finer  than  the  best  that  they 
had  in  our  own  Cicilienhof  at  Potsdam  or  at  01s. 
Everywhere  I  now  miss  those  boys,  miss  the  inquir- 
ing remarks  of  those  youngest  ones  who  really  made 
their  first  acquaintance  with  their  father  here  on 
the  island,  miss  continually  the  kind,  wise  and  under- 
standing words  of  the  wife  who  has  so  many  sorrows 

126 


STRESS  AND  STORM  127 

and  worries  of  her  own  to  bear  and  who  yet  never 
loses  courage.  Over  there,  at  Hippolytushof,  we 
stowed  the  little  fellows  in  the  house  of  the  ever- 
ready  Burgomaster  Peereboom — for  we  had  no 
room  for  them  in  my  parsonage — and  there  they 
were  soon  the  friends  and  confidants  of  all  the  lads 
anywhere  near  their  own  age.  In  our  Oosterland 
cottage,  quarters  were  found  only  for  my  wife  and 
her  companion.  Everything  now  seems  empty, 
since  it  is  no  longer  filled  with  her  fun  at  the  primi- 
tive glories  and  makeshifts  of  our  "bachelor's  house- 
hold." 

On  her  way  home  she  stayed  at  Amerongen. 

It  is  depressing  to  read  what  she  writes  about 
things  there.  Our  dear  mother  suffering,  and  yet 
unwearily  troubling  about  the  Kaiser,  about  my 
brothers,  my  little  sister  and  her  grandchildren;  my 
father  bitter  and  not  yet  able  to  release  himself  from 
the  ever-revolving  circle  of  brooding  about  the  things 
that  have  been. 

It  is  a  very  different  question  whether  the  will 
and  vital  courage  of  a  man  of  thirty-six  years  are 
to  withstand  the  test  of  such  a  terrible  strain  of 
destiny,  or  whether  a  man  of  sixty  is  able  to  see 
shattered  before  him  his  life's  work  that  he  had  re- 
garded as  imperishable. 

In  the  last  few  days,  my  thoughts  have  reverted 
to  him  over  and  over  again. 


128    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

At  the  time  that  I  was  about  to  start  on  my  In- 
dian tour,  my  military  career  had  reached  the  point 
where  I  was  to  receive  the  command  of  a  cavalry 
regiment.  It  was  a  matter  of  great  moment  to  me; 
and,  with  a  view  to  the  political  situation,  I  did  not 
wish  to  be  too  far  away  from  the  centre  of  govern- 
ment, from  those  men  who  had  to  cook  the  broth  in 
the  serving  out  of  which  I  was  at  the  time  so  inter- 
ested. 

In  this  matter  of  the  army  I  could  not  approach 
the  Kaiser  directly.  My  appointed  intermediary 
was  the  chef  du  cabinet  militaire,  General  von 
Lyncker.  I  discussed  the  affair  with  him  and  asked 
for  the  Gardes  du  Corps.  Herr  von  Lyncker,  who 
treated  my  request  quite  impartially  and  without 
any  prepossession,  entertained  great  doubts;  he  told 
me  that  His  Majesty  would  almost  certainly  not 
consent;  rather  than  raise  this  "problem"  again, 
they  would  prefer  to  drop  my  suggestion.  From 
the  trend  of  the  conversation,  moreover,  it  was  ob- 
servable that  the  inner  circle  of  His  Majesty's  ad- 
visers and  certain  Government  officers  did  not  pas- 
sionately share  my  wish  that  I  should  remain  near 
the  centre  of  government. 

I  therefore  asked  for  the  King's  Uhlans  in  Han- 
over or  the  Breslau  Body  Cuirassiers;  and  Herr  von 
Lyncker  said  that  would  not  create  any  difficulty, 
and  he  would  advise  His  Majesty  accordingly.  I 
was  content;  after  all,  Hanover  and  Breslau  did  not 


STRESS  AND  STORM  129 

lie  quite  outside  the  world  and  one  might  keep 
fairly  in  touch  with  things  from  either  place. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  I  left  for  India. 
But  at  Peshawar  I  read  in  an  English  newspaper 
that  His  Majesty  had  appointed  me  to  the  com- 
mand of  his  First  Body  Hussars  at  Langfuhr  by 
Danzig. 

My  prime  feeling  was  one  of  disappointment,  not 
only  because  my  wishes  had  been  once  more  totally 
pushed  aside,  but  because  it  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of 
principle  to  refuse  the  fulfilment  of  the  wishes  of  us 
sons  in  military  matters.  Nor  was  this  all.  The 
remote  position  of  Danzig  and  the  bleak  climate, 
which  I  feared  especially  on  my  wife's  account,  were 
not  particularly  alluring.  Contrary  to  my  expecta- 
tions, everything  turned  out  capitally,  and,  but  for 
my  worries  about  the  general  situation  of  affairs,  the 
two  years  and  a  half  spent  in  Danzig  became  the 
happiest  time  of  my  life. 

We  lived  in  a  small  villa  which  scarcely  afforded 
sufficient  room  for  my  already  considerable  family. 
But  we  made  ourselves  very  comfortable  and  led  a 
happy  and  peaceful  life. 

It  was  an  honor  and  a  pleasure  to  be  the  com- 
mander of  that  fine  old  regiment.  The  officers 
were  all  young, — a  companionable  medley  of  nobles 
and  commoners.  The  serious  and  faithful  character 
of  my  old  regimental  adjutant,  Count  Dolina,  I 
recall  with  particular  pleasure.    Most  of  the  officers 


130    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

were  the  sons  of  landed  proprietors  in  East  and 
West  Prussia  whose  fathers  and  grandfathers  had 
worn  the  Black  Attila  and  the  Death's  Head  of  the 
Body  Hussars.  Similarly,  the  regiment  recruited  its 
non-commissioned  officers  and  men  almost  exclu- 
sively from  among  the  young  country  people  of  East 
Prussia,  West  Prussia  and  Posen,  tip-top  soldiers 
who  brought  with  them  from  their  homes  a  love  of 
horses  and  an  understanding  for  their  management. 
Finally,  the  horses  themselves  were  excellent;  and 
we  were  the  only  white-horse  regiment  in  the  army. 

The  love  of  riding  which  had  been  in  me  from 
childhood  could  now  have  full  away.  In  accor- 
dance with  the  convictions  gained  by  experience,  I 
limited  the  course-riding  to  the  minimum,  and  laid 
chief  stress  upon  cross-country  and  hurdle  riding, 
in  which  really  first-class  results  were  obtained. 
Great  emphasis  was  placed  upon  foot-practice  and 
firing,  more  perhaps  than  was  then  customary  with 
confirmed  cavalrymen.  The  war  showed  that  this 
training  is,  even  for  cavalry,  a  thing  that  should  not 
be  neglected. 

I  did  my  best  to  maintain  a  liking  for  the  ser- 
vice among  my  Hussars.  I  had  a  nice  commodi- 
ous Casino  installed  for  the  use  of  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers,  as  well  as  comfortable  quarters  for 
the  men.  The  men  who  had  been  in  the  ranks  for 
a  year  or  more  were  lodged  separately  from  the  re- 
cruits to  prevent  possible  difficulties.    In  the  leisure 


STRESS  AND  STORM  131 

hours  there  were  plenty  of  outdoor  games.  Towards 
the  end  of  my  time,  we  had  a  well-trained  football 
team  in  which  the  officers  participated. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  my  life  that  "  Deutsch- 
land  in  Waff  en"  was  published,  a  picture-book  for 
young  Germans.  The  preface  which  I  wrote  for  it 
has  been  unjustly  taken  to  indicate  that  I  had 
ranged  myself  among  the  war  firebrands.  Nothing 
was  ever  further  from  my  thoughts;  nor  can  an  im- 
partial perusal  of  my  paragraphs  discover  such  a 
meaning  in  them.  The  preface  was  written  in  con- 
sequence of  the  increasing  dangers  that  threatened 
us;  it  was  directed  against  sordid  materialism  and 
pointed  out  to  the  youth  of  Germany  that  it  was 
their  duty  and  honor  to  fight,  if  necessary,  for  their 
country.  It  was  the  admonition  of  a  German  and  a 
soldier  to  the  rising  generation  of  Germans  whose 
young  energies  and  whose  patriotic  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  we  could  not  dispense  with  in  the  hour  of 
need. 

Since  my  demonstration  against  Bethmann  HoU- 
weg's  Morocco  policy,  I  was  labelled  as  a  war  inciter 
by  every  blind  pacifist  in  Germany  and  by  their 
friends  abroad  whenever  I  came  before  the  public. 
So  it  was  in  the  case  of  this  little  dissertation  on  our 
army:  people  sought  in  it  evidence  of  the  tendencies 
unjustly  ascribed  to  me.  Similarly  they  imagined 
themselves  to  have  pinned  me  tight  when,  a  short 
time  afterwards,  I  came  forward  in  another  public 


132    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

affair,  namely,  the  Zabem  incident  which  obtained 
such  unfortunate  notoriety. 

Our  policy  in  the  Reichslanden  (Alsace-Lorraine) 
had,  for  years,  caused  me  great  anxiety.  My  visits 
to  these  provinces,  as  well  as  the  reports  of  many  of 
my  comrades  in  the  garrisons  of  the  west  frontier 
and  the  honest  descriptions  given  me  of  conditions 
there  by  those  familiar  with  them,  had  opened  my 
eyes  to  the  realities  of  the  situation.  Sugar-plums 
and  the  whip  had  prevailed  ever  since  1871.  The 
results  corresponded  to  the  tactics.  The  last  period 
had  been  one  of  sugar-plums,  and  the  reichsldndische 
constitution  had  been  its  consummation.  French 
propaganda  now  had  its  own  way  and  did  what- 
ever it  pleased.  The  pro-French  notables  set  the 
fashion  and  called  the  tune  for  the  civil  administra- 
tion. The  military  were,  in  a  sense,  merely  tol- 
erated by  the  irredentist  circles.  Just  one  example 
to  illustrate  the  pre-war  conditions  in  the  German 
Reichslanden  and  the  attitude  of  the  governmental 
authorities.  Two  of  my  flying  officers  told  me  one 
day  that,  in  the  year  1913,  a  great  French  presenta- 
tion of  the  colors  took  place,  and  they — the  military 
— ^were  advised  not  to  show  themselves  in  the  streets 
on  that  day  lest  the  sight  of  their  Prussian  uniform 
might  irritate  the  French.  Under  such  conditions  it 
was  that  the  conflict  arose.  The  civil  population 
had  heckled  the  Prussian  military,  the  officer  had 
defended  himself,  and  then  the  whole  world  sud- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  133 

denly  howled  at  Prussian  militarism.  At  this  mo- 
ment, at  a  time  when  foreign  countries  and  the 
never-lacking  sophist  advocates  of  absolute  justice 
in  our  own  poor  Germany  were  doing  everything 
to  discredit  our  last  and  only  asset,  our  army,  in  the 
eyes  of  friend  and  foe,  I  readily  and  "without  the 
proper  reserve,"  as  it  was  said,  took  my  stand  by 
my  comrades  who  were  so  hard  pressed  by  the  at- 
tacks of  public  discussion.  I  wired  to  General  von 
Deimling  and  to  Colonel  von  Renter.  That  is  all 
true.  But  that  I  sent  the  colonel  a  telegram  con- 
taining the  words  "Immer  feste  druff"  I  learned 
from  the  newspapers,  and  this  invention  was  due  to 
the  falsifying  fantasy  of  those  peace-lovers  who 
sought  perhaps  to  strengthen  the  great  hankerings 
for  peace  all  around  us.  In  truth  I  had  telegraphed 
to  Colonel  von  Renter  as  a  comrade  that  he  should 
take  severe  measures,  since  the  prestige  of  the  army 
was  at  stake.  If  Lieutenant  von  Forstner  had  been 
condemned,  every  hooligan  would  have  felt  encour- 
aged to  attack  the  uniform.  An  untenable  situation 
would  have  been  sanctioned,  doubly  untenable  in 
the  Reichslanden,  where,  in  consequence  of  the  lax 
attitude  of  the  civil  authorities,  the  military  already 
found  themselves  in  the  most  difficult  circum- 
stances. I  should  like  to  have  seen  what  would 
have  happened  in  England  or  France,  if  an  officer 
had  been  provoked  as  Lieutenant  von  Forstner  was. 
But  we  were  in  Germany.    German  public  opinion 


134    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

had  once  more  a  pretext  for  busying  itself  with  me 
in  conjunction  with  the  events  described;  the  old 
talk  about  a  camarilla,  about  the  war  firebrand  and 
the  frondeur  of  Langfuhr  were  dished  up  again  in  the 
leading  articles  of  the  scribblers.  If  they  were  to  be 
believed,  I  had  once  again  made  myself  "impossi- 
ble." The  highest  dignitaries  wore  the  doubtful 
faces  prescribed  for  such  occasions  of  national  mourn- 
ing, and  His  Majesty  was  highly  displeased. 

Schiller  says  in  "William  Tell":  "The  waters  rage 
and  clamour  for  their  victims";  and  another  passage 
runs:  "'Twas  blessing  in  disguise;  it  raised  me  up- 
wards." 

Out  of  the  blue  and  with  great  suddenness  every- 
thing happened.  His  Majesty  took  my  regiment 
from  me  and  ordered  me  to  Berlin,  so  that  my  over- 
grown independence  might  be  curtailed  and  my  do- 
ings better  watched.  I  was  to  work  in  the  General 
Staff. 

In  this  way  a  ring  was  completed:  the  wish  not  to 
have  me  too  near  the  central  authorities  had  sent 
me  to  Langfuhr  by  Danzig;  the  wish  to  have  me 
within  reach  brought  me  back  again;  in  both  cases, 
a  little  indignation  and  a  little  annoyance  played 
their  part. 

At  any  rate,  among  the  incorrigible  pacifists  who 
wished  to  disperse  with  pretty  speeches  the  war 
menace  already  hanging  above  the  horizon,  indigna- 
tion was  aroused  by  my  farewell  words  to  my  Hus- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  135 

sars.  I  had  called  it  a  moment  of  the  greatest  hap- 
piness to  the  soldier,  "when  the  King  called  and 
March !  March !  was  sounded."  According  to  them 
I  ought  doubtless  to  have  told  my  brave  comrades 
some  beautiful  fairy-tale. 

When  I  rode  for  the  last  time  down  the  front  of 
my  fine  regiment  and  the  farewell  shouts  of  my 
Hussars  rang  in  my  ears,  my  heart  became  unspeak- 
ably heavy.  It  was  as  though  a  still,  small  voice 
whispered  that  this  was  the  farewell  to  a  peaceful 
soldier's  life  which  I  was  never  again  to  know. 
What  I  was  now  to  leave  had  all  been  so  beautiful, 
so  happy  and  so  replete  with  honest  labor. 

In  foreign  soil,  sleeping  their  eternal  sleep,  now 
rest  many — ^too,  too  many — of  the  bright  and  capa- 
ble young  comrades  of  my  beloved  and  courageous 
regiment  of  Hussars  whose  uniform  I  wore  through- 
out the  war  with  joyous  pride.  Among  them  lies 
my  cousin.  Prince  Frederick  Charles  of  Prussia,  a 
particularly  undaunted  rider  and  soldier.  My  recol- 
lections will  be  with  them  all  in  grateful  sadness  as 
long  as  I  live. 

Perhaps  I  ought  to  have  torn  up  the  sheets  I 
wrote  yesterday  and  to  have  rewritten  them  in  a 
different  style.  When  I  read  them  through  to-day, 
I  found  in  them  a  note  of  irritability  that  I  would 
rather  not  introduce  into  my  memoirs.  But  I  shall 
let  them  remain  as  they  are;  they  bear  witness  to 


136    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  bitterness  which  still  possesses  me  when  I  recall 
that  last  year  before  the  war  and  the  absurdity  of 
our  "ostrich"  policy.  What  a  sorry  humor  comes 
over  me  when  I  remember  how  they  dubbed  me  the 
instigator  to  a  "fresh,  free,  rollicking  war"  because 
of  my  warning:  "Then  preserve  at  least  your  last 
for  the  grave  day  and  keep  yourselves  armed  for  the 
struggle  that  is  surely  coming!" 

The  truth  is  that  I  was  clearly  conscious  of  the 
terrible  seriousness  of  our  position,  that  I  neither 
was  nor  am  a  Cassandra,  filling  the  halls  of  Troy 
with  verses  of  lament,  but  a  man  and  a  soldier. 
Yet  people  in  our  beloved  homeland  took  it  very  ill 
that  I  was  the  latter,  and  they  do  so  still. 

For  the  winter  1913-14  I  was  ordered  to  the 
Great  General  Staff  for  purposes  of  initiation 
and  study.  My  instructor  was  Lieutenant-General 
Schmidt  von  Knobelsdorf,  who  became  afterwards 
my  chief  of  general  staff  in  the  Upper  Command  of 
the  Fifth  Army.  In  matters  of  military  science  I 
owe  much  to  His  Excellency  von  Knobelsdorf.  He 
was  a  brilliant  teacher  in  every  domain  of  tactics 
and  strategy.  His  lectures  and  the  themes  he  set 
for  me  were  masterpieces.  His  chief  maxim  was: 
clearness  of  decision  on  the  part  of  the  leader;  trans- 
lation of  the  decision  into  commands;  leave  your 
subordinates  the  widest  scope  of  personal  responsi- 
bility. 

My  appointment  to  the  General  Staff  gave  me  an 


STRESS  AND  STORM  137 

exhaustive  insight  into  the  enormous  amount  of 
work  it  performed.  I  was  able  to  penetrate  into  the 
superb  organization  of  the  whole,  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  maintenance,  the  re-enforcement 
and  the  movements  of  the  army,  and  to  form  an 
opinion  concerning  the  defensive  forces  of  other  na- 
tions. In  the  operations  department  I  heard  lec- 
tures on  the  proposed  concentration  of  the  armies 
in  the  event  of  war. 

In  the  lectures  and  discussions  concerning  a  possi- 
ble world  war,  I  received  the  impression  that  the 
British  army  and  its  possibilities  of  development  in 
case  of  war  were  treated  too  lightly.  People  seemed 
to  reckon  too  much  with  the  disposable  forces  of  the 
moment  and  too  little  with  the  values  which  might 
be  created  under  the  pressure  of  war  and  resistance. 
I  knew  something  of  the  English  and  their  army 
from  my  various  visits  and  from  personal  observa- 
tion, and  I  knew,  too,  their  great  talent  for  organiza- 
tion as  well  as  their  skill  in  improvising.  If  a 
conceivable  war  were  carried  successfully  through 
before  these  talents  could  be  brought  into  play,  the 
estimates  of  our  General  Staff  might  prove  correct, 
but  not  otherwise.  The  Russian  army  I  also  con- 
sidered not  to  have  been  always  rated  at  its  full 
significance. 

In  regard  to  our  western  neighbor  and  presum- 
ably immediate  adversary,  I  have  only  to  recall  that 
France,  at  that  time,  despite  her  considerably  smaller 


138    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

population,  maintained  an  army  almost  as  large  as 
ours.  To  do  so,  she  levied  eighty  per  cent  of  her 
men,  whereas  we  contented  ourselves  with  about 
fifty  per  cent. 

The  general  view  of  the  peace  strength  in  the 
event  of  a  war  such  as  that  which  actually  occurred 
may  be  put  thus: — For  Germany  not  quite  900,000 
troops,  and  for  Austria-Hungary  about  500,000 — 
together,  roughly  1,400,000  men  on  the  side  of  the 
Central  Powers.  On  the  other  hand,  Russia  alone 
provided  the  Entente  with  well  over  2,000,000  sol- 
diers, to  whom  were  to  be  added  those  of  France  and 
Belgium.  Thus,  even  at  the  outset  of  the  war,  we 
were  outnumbered  in  the  ratio  of  two  to  one.  Reck- 
oning the  quality  of  the  German  as  high  as  you 
please — and  to  place  him  very  high  was  quite  justi- 
fiable— the  odds  were  too  great. 

With  all  that,  we  had,  in  1914,  an  army  which,  in 
every  way,  was  brilliantly  trained;  and  consequently, 
in  the  summer  of  that  year,  when  the  die  was  cast, 
we  took  the  field  "with  the  best  army  in  the  world." 

But,  so  far  as  provision  for  war  was  concerned, 
we  had  unfortunately  not,  in  our  peace  prepara- 
tions, attained  the  maximum  of  striking  energy. 
We  had  not,  by  a  long  way,  exploited  all  the  re- 
sources of  power  in  people  and  land  or  mobilized 
them  in  time.  That  the  Great  General  Staff  had 
repeatedly  expressed  urgent  wishes  in  this  matter  I 
can  myself  testify.    The  fault  did  not  lie  there. 


STRESS  AND  STORM  139 

Nor  did  it  lie  with  the  German  Reichstag,  which,  in 
consideration  of  the  menacing  seriousness  of  the 
situation,  would  not,  despite  its  party  differences, 
have  refused  to  provide  the  German  sword  with  all 
passible  force  and  keenness,  if  the  responsible  min- 
isters had  used  all  their  weight  to  this  end.  But 
it  seemed  then,  as  it  had  done  in  peace  time,  as 
though  all  communications,  suggestions  or  inquiries 
issuing  from  military  quarters,  and  especially  from 
the  General  Staff  fell  on  barren  ground.  Close 
co-operation  was,  under  such  circumstances,  impos- 
sible. 

In  that  very  year  1914,  a  question  arose  which 
was  viewed  from  totally  different  standpoints  by 
the  two  parties.  The  Russians  began  to  make  a 
comprehensive  redisposition  of  their  troops.  Quite 
evidently  the  centre  of  gravity  was  being  shifted 
towards  the  German  and  Austrian  frontiers,  which 
felt  more  and  more  the  pressure  of  these  amassments. 
From  the  interior  of  Russia,  also,  the  General  Staff 
received  news  of  curious  troop  movements.  How 
were  these  proceedings  to  be  explained?  The  mili- 
tary view  that  they  gave  us  good  reason  to  be  pre- 
pared for  any  event  was  met  by  the  watery  explana- 
tion that  the  affair  was  only  a  test  mobilization; 
and,  in  stupid  anxiety  lest  a  definite  clearing  of  the 
matter  might  "start  the  avalanche,"  the  political 
gentlemen  adopted  the  attitude  of  "wait  and  see." 


140    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Subsequent  to  the  summer  sojourn  of  the  General 
Staff  in  the  Vosges  under  the  leadership  of  its  chief, 
von  Moltke,  I  received  a  few  weeks'  furlough,  which 
I  spent  in  West  Prussia.  Early  in  July,  I  joined 
my  family  in  a  charming  little  villa  presented  to 
us  by  the  town  of  Zoppot.  It  was  a  magnificently 
brilliant  summer,  and  the  days  were  quickly  spent 
in  such  recreations  as  swimming,  rowing,  riding  and 
tennis.  Zoppot  was  filled  with  strangers,  including 
many  Poles. 

In  the  midst  of  this  serene  peacefulness,  I  was 
startled  by  the  gruesome  telegram  which  brought  me 
the  tidings  of  the  Archduke's  assassination.  That 
this  political  murder  would  have  serious  conse- 
quences was  obvious.  But  this  dull,  anxious  con- 
viction remained,  for  the  present,  confined  to  my 
own  bosom;  not  a  soul  among  our  leading  states- 
men thought  it  necessary  to  hear  my  views  or  to 
inform  me  of  those  of  our  ministers.  Neither  from 
the  Imperial  Chancellor,  nor  from  the  Foreign  Office, 
nor  from  the  chief  of  the  general  staff  did  I  learn 
a  thing  about  the  course  of  affairs. 

The  Kaiser  was  cruising  in  Norwegian  waters, 
which  I  had  to  take  as  an  indication  that  nothing 
unusual  was  to  be  anticipated.  Only  the  news- 
paper reports  strengthened  my  belief  that  serious 
developments  were  approaching.  From  Danzig  mer- 
chants who  had  just  returned  from  Russia  I  also 
received  news  indicating  that  an  extensive  west- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  141 

ward  movement  of  Russian  troops  was  taking  place ; 
though,  naturally,  I  had  no  means  of  checking  the 
correctness  of  this  information. 

It  was  also  from  the  press  that  I  gleaned  my  first 
information  concerning  the  Austrian  ultimatum. 
Its  wording  left  the  door  open  to  every  possibility, 
according  to  the  political  attitude  adopted  towards 
it  by  our  Foreign  Office.  To  me  it  seemed  quite 
self-evident  that  the  Wilhelmstrasse  ought  to  as- 
sume an  independent  position  and  certainly  ought 
not  to  allow  itself  to  be  drawn  once  more,  as,  unhap- 
pily, had  previously  been  the  case,  into  the  wake  of 
a  pronounced  Austrian  policy. 

To  these  days,  in  which  the  world  faced  such  tre- 
mendous decisions,  belongs  an  interlude — a  painful 
one  to  me,  that  was  once  more  to  reveal  to  me, 
just  before  the  eleventh  hour,  the  chasm  between 
my  own  conception  of  things  and  the  Imperial 
Chancellor's.  It  was  my  last  peace  conflict  with 
Herr  von  Bethmann — in  reality  a  matter  of  no  con- 
sequence, and  one  of  which  I  speak  here  only  be- 
cause, at  the  time,  it  was  dragged  into  the  news- 
papers and  capital  made  of  it  to  my  detriment. 

I  had  given  expression  to  my  interest  in  the  ut- 
terances of  two  Germans  who,  like  myself,  saw  the 
gathering  storm  and  raised  their  voices  in  warning. 
The  one  was  the  retired  lieutenant-colonel,  D.  H. 
Frobenius,  who  had  published  a  political  pamphlet 
called  "The  Gernian  Empire's  Hour  of  Destiny"; 


142    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  other  was  Professor  Gustav  Buchholz  who  had 
delivered  a  speech  on  Bismarck  at  Posen.  The 
wording  of  my  telegram  to  Frobenius  ran: — **I  have 
read  with  great  interest  your  splendid  brochure  *Des 
Deutschen  Reiches  Schicksalsstunde'  and  wish  it 
the  widest  circulation  among  the  German  people, 
Wilhelm  Kronprinz." 

These  "bellicose  manifestations"  ("Kriegshetze- 
rischen  Kundgebungen ")  Herr  von  Bethmann  con- 
sidered calculated  to  "compromise  and  cross" 
("kompromittieren  und  kontrekarrieren ")  his  firmly 
established  policy;  and  he  found  time,  on  July  20th, 
to  address  personally  to  His  Majesty  a  long  tele- 
gram complaining  of  my  action  and  requesting 
him  to  forbid  me  by  telegram  all  interference  in 
politics.  Thereupon,  in  a  telegram  from  Balholm, 
dated  July  21,  the  Kaiser,  appealing  to  my  sense 
of  duty  and  honor  as  a  Prussian  officer,  reminded 
me  of  my  promise  to  refrain  from  all  political 
activity;  accordingly  and  without  any  discussion  as 
to  whether,  in  my  telegram  quoted  above,  could  be 
found  anything  more  than  the  thanks  of  an  inter- 
ested and  approving  reader,  I  wired  to  His  Majesty 
on  July  23:  "Commands  will  be  carried  out."  At 
that  moment  I  had  other  matters  to  worry  about 
than  disputes  with  Herr  von  Bethmann  over  the 
limits  of  my  right  to  thank  some  one  for  a  book  that 
had  been  sent  me. 

The  next  thing  I  learned  touching  the  great  prob- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  143 

lem  was  that  the  Kaiser  had  arrived  at  Kiel  on 
board  the  "Hohenzollem"  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-sixth  and  that  he  had  proceeded  immedi- 
ately to  Potsdam.  That  was  comforting,  since,  if 
there  were  any  prospect  of  maintaining  peace,  he 
would  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  to  do  so. 

Then  silence  again.  Then,  in  the  newspapers, 
which  we  caught  at  hungrily:  "Grey  has  suggested 
in  Paris,  Berlin  and  Rome  a  concerted  action  at 
Vienna  and  Belgrade — the  crown  council  in  Cetinje 
has  resolved  upon  mobilization." 

Distinctly  and  clearly,  as  though  it  were  but 
yesterday,  I  still  recall  the  30th  of  July.  My  adju- 
tant Miiller  and  I  were  lying  in  the  dunes  sunning 
ourselves  after  a  delightful  swim,  when  an  urgent 
telegram  was  brought  me  by  special  messenger.  It 
contained  His  Majesty's  orders  for  me  to  come 
at  once  to  Potsdam.  We  now  saw  the  full  serious- 
ness of  the  situation. 

I  started  immediately. 

On  the  thirty-first,  there  was  a  supper  at  the  New 
Palace,  at  which  my  uncle,  Prince  Henry,  was  also 
present. 

After  supper.  His  Majesty  walked  up  and  down 
in  the  garden  with  Prince  Henry  and  me.  He  was 
excessively  serious;  he  did  not  conceal  from  himself 
the  enormous  peril  of  the  situation,  but  he  expressed 
the  hope  that  a  European  war  might  be  avoided;  he 
himself  had  sent  detailed  telegrams  to  the  Tsar  and 


144    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

to  the  King  of  England  and  believed  he  might  an- 
ticipate success. 

Some  difference  arose  between  my  uncle  and  my- 
self through  my  asserting  that,  if  it  came  to  war, 
England  would  most  assuredly  take  the  side  of  our 
adversaries.  Prince  Henry  contested  this.  Thus  I 
found  here  the  same  optimism  that  had  clouded  the 
views  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor  who,  to  the  last 
moment,  held  firm  and  fast  to  his  belief  in  England's 
neutrality.  His  Majesty  was  in  some  doubt  as  to 
the  attitude  which  England  would  adopt  in  the  event 
of  war. 

My  last  conversation  on  this  question  with  the 
Imperial  Chancellor,  von  Bethmann  Hollweg,  took 
place  at  the  palace  in  Berlin  on  August  3.  It  is 
stamped  into  my  memory — sharp  and  indelible;  the 
impressive  hour  in  which  it  occurred  enhanced  the 
depth  and  significance  of  the  effect,  which,  with 
final  and  terrible  clearness,  once  more  revealed  to 
me,  on  the  threshold  of  war,  that  our  only  prospect 
of  success  lay  in  the  strength  of  the  German  army. 

On  that  3d  of  August,  I  had  just  taken  leave  of 
my  father  to  join  the  army.  My  car  stood  ready. 
As  I  was  about  to  leave  the  little  garden  between 
the  palace  and  the  Spree,  I  met  the  chancellor  com- 
ing in  to  report  to  His  Majesty,  and  we  spent  a  few 
minutes  in  talk. 

Bethmann:  Your  Imperial  Highness  is  going  to 
the  front? 


STRESS  AND  STORM  145 

I:  Yes. 

Bethmann:  Will  the  army  do  it? 

I:  Whatever  an  army  can  do  we  shall  do;  but  I 
feel  constrained  to  point  out  to  Your  Excellency  that 
the  political  aspect  of  the  stars  under  which  we  are 
entering  the  war  is  the  most  unfavorable  that  one  can 
imagine. 

Bethmann:  In  what  way? 

I:  Well  that  is  clear:  Russia,  France,  England  on 
the  other  side;  Italy  and  Roumania  at  most  neutral 
— ^though  even  that  is  improbable. 

Bethmann:  Why  that  is  impossible.  England 
will  certainly  remain  neutral. 

I:  Your  Excellency  will  receive  the  declaration  of 
war  in  a  few  days.  There  is  only  one  thing  to  be 
done:  to  find  allies.  In  my  opinion,  we  must  do 
everything  to  induce  Turkey  and  Bulgaria  to  con- 
clude alliances  with  us  as  soon  as  possible. 

Bethmann:  I  should  consider  that  the  greatest 
misfortune  for  Germany. 

I  stared  at  him  puzzled,  till  I  perceived  the  con- 
nection between  his  remark  and  what  had  gone  be- 
fore. In  his  incomprehensible  ideology  he  meant 
that,  by  such  alliances,  we  might  forfeit  the  friend- 
ship and  the  certain  neutrality  of  England — friend- 
ship and  neutrality  that  existed  only  in  his  own  head. 

As  soon  as  I  grasped  this,  our  conversation  was 
over.     I  saluted  him  and  drove  off. 

There  was  only  one  hope,  one  support,  on  which 


146    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

we  could  lean;  that  was  the  German  people  in  arms, 
the  German  army.  With  that  we  might  perhaps 
succeed  in  our  task  despite  our  diplomatists  and 
despite  the  naive  imaginings  of  this  chancellor  who 
was  so  spiritually  minded  as  to  be  almost  out  of 
touch  with  mundane  realities. 

The  incredible  conception  of  our  political  situa- 
tion, as  revealed  by  Herr  von  Bethmann  Hollweg  in 
the  conversation  just  cited,  is  apparent  also  in  the  re- 
port of  the  British  ambassador,  Sir  Edward  Goschen, 
on  his  decisive  interview  with  the  chancellor  the 
next  day.  According  to  that  report,  Herr  von  Beth- 
mann, now  that  he  was  at  last  bound  to  see  before 
him  England's  true  face,  admitted  with  emotion 
that  his  entire  policy  had  collapsed  like  a  house  of 
cards. 

Since  those  fateful  summer  days  of  the  year  1914, 
I  have  thought  much  and  often  about  these  inci- 
dents; and  here  in  the  solitude  of  the  island  I  have 
occupied  myself  particularly  with  the  matter.  The 
blue,  the  red  and  the  white  books  of  the  various 
countries  have  furnished  me  with  many  a  hint  as  to 
the  actual  proceedings  of  the  weeks  immediately 
before  the  war,  and  I  find  myself  obliged  to  formu- 
late a  judgment  in  even  more  severe  terms  than 
before,  that  in  those  fateful  days  Bethmann  HoU- 
weg's  policy  and  the  Foreign  Office  failed  more 
completely  than  one  might  have  expected  from  the 
example  of  preceding  years. 


STRESS  AND  STORM  147 

That,  in  a  war  between  Austria  and  Serbia,  Rus- 
sia would  back  Serbia  and  France  Russia,  and  so 
on,  was  known  to  every  amateur  politician  in  Ger- 
many. Instead  of  critically  examining  Austria's 
action  and  saying  categorically  to  the  Ballplatz: 
"We  shall  not  wage  war  for  Serbia,"  people  did  as 
I  had  feared;  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  com- 
pletely taken  in  tow  by  Austria.  That  is  what  hap- 
pened, and  in  my  opinion,  none  of  the  other  rep- 
resentations of  the  case  by  the  Foreign  Office  go  to 
the  root  of  the  matter.  The  totally  incomprehen- 
sible attitude  of  the  Foreign  Office  placed  us  in 
quite  a  false  light;  so  that  the  Entente,  adducing 
the  outward  appearance  as  proof,  assert  that  we 
declined  the  mediation  of  England  because  we 
wished  to  go  to  war. 

Withal,  this  Foreign  Office  was  so  sure  of  itself 
that  it  allowed  the  Kaiser  to  proceed  to  Norway, 
the  chief  of  the  general  staff  to  stay  at  Carlsbad, 
and  His  Excellency,  von  Tirpitz,  to  remain  on  fur- 
lough in  the  Black  Forest. 

Thanks  to  an  incredibly  blind  management  of  our 
foreign  affairs,  we  just  blundered  into  the  world 
war.  So  remarkable  was  the  incompetence  of  our 
responsible  authorities  that  the  world  refused  to 
believe  us,  refused  to  regard  such  simplicity  as  pos- 
sible, took  it  to  be  a  cleverly  selected  mask  behind 
which  was  hidden  some  particularly  cunning  scheme. 

When  the  Kaiser  returned  from  Norway,  it  was 


148    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

too  late  to  accomplish  anything.    Destiny  strode 
her  way. 

June,  1920. 

For  considerably  more  than  half  a  year,  I  have 
not  had  in  my  hands  these  sheets  on  which  I  had 
set  down  a  review  of  my  life  and  of  my  immediate 
environment  down  to  the  outbreak  of  war  and,  at 
the  same  time,  my  impressions  and  reminiscences  of 
the  events  which  led  up  to  it.  Not  that  I  had  given 
up  the  idea  of  sketching  the  incidents  of  the  war  in 
a  similar  way,  but  because,  in  the  progress  of  the 
work,  it  soon  appeared  necessary  to  lift  these  out 
of  the  scope  of  personal  reminiscences  and  to  mould 
them  into  the  form  of  an  historical  presentation  of 
the  events  of  the  war. 

Consequently,  from  October  of  last  year  till  now, 
my  task  has  been  the  recording  of  the  purely  mili- 
tary happenings  which  from  the  day  we  took  the 
field  I  shared  and  experienced  in  common  with  the 
troops  intrusted  to  me,  during  the  long  days  of  the 
war  as  leader  of  the  Fifth  Army  and  as  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  "Kronprinz"  group  of  armies. 

All  the  great  events  experienced  in  those  years 
and  all  the  sufferings  that  I  had  to  wrestle  with  and 
to  bear  I  have  conscientiously  noted  down.  In  this 
way  there  has  been  laid  the  foundation  of  a  presen- 
tation of  the  tremendous  military  performances  of 
that  fellowship  whose  members  stood  as  comrades 


STRESS  AND  STORM  149 

under  me  and  with  me  in  the  field.  It  is  a  presen- 
tation which,  the  more  I  occupied  myself  with  it, 
tempted  me  the  more  to  make  the  utmost  use  of  the 
copious  material  in  my  possession;  I  was  lured,  too, 
by  the  thought  of  erecting  to  my  faithful  fellow 
soldiers  a  chaste  and  simple  monument  in  the  shape 
of  a  straightforward  and  unadorned  narration  of 
their  doings. 

The  account  that  I  have  given  in  it,  as  a  soldier, 
of  those  bloody  and  yet  immortally  great  four  and 
a  half  years  will  not  fit  into  the  framework  of  what 
I  have  previously  recounted  in  these  pages.  It  is 
military  technical  writing  in  the  strictest  sense  of 
the  word  and  is  to  take  the  character  of  a  separate 
and  complete  volume. 

These  considerations  have  led  me  to  decide  upon 
lifting  the  presentation  of  the  military  enterprises 
and  battles  bodily  out  of  these  present  memoirs  and 
to  proceed,  as  before,  with  the  frank  and  free  de- 
scription of  my  most  personal  impressions  and  ex- 
periences and  my  attitude  towards  the  most  weighty 
problems  brought  before  me  by  the  war  and  into 
which  I  was  swept  by  the  general  collapse  and  crash. 

But  before  returning  to  my  remembrances  of  that 
more  distant  past,  I  should  like  to  say  something  of 
the  eight  or  nine  months  which  have  elapsed  since  I 
wrote  of  them  last  in  this  manuscript. 

If  any  one  had  said  to  me  last  autumn :  When  the 
New  Year  comes,  the  spring,  the  summer,  you  will 


150    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

still  be  on  this  island  and  far  from  your  home,  I 
should  not  have  believed  him,  should  scarcely  have 
been  able  to  bear  the  thought  of  it.  Thus  the  never- 
failing  hopes  of  a  progressive  restoration  of  our 
homeland  to  fresh  order  and  tranquillity  coupled 
with  the  work  which — alongside  of  everything  else 
brought  by  the  days,  months  and  seasons — I  have 
never  interrupted  for  any  length  of  time,  have  helped 
me  over  this  period.  Friends,  also,  who  have  visited 
me  in  my  solitude  and  brought  me  a  kind  of  echo 
from  the  world,  have  helped  to  lighten  my  seques- 
tered lot;  so,  too,  have  the  good,  simple  people 
around  me,  who,  since  they  made  the  acquaintance 
of  my  wife,  have  grown  doubly  fond  of  me;  finally, 
there  is  my  faithful  comrade.  Major  von  Miildner, 
who,  in  self-sacrificing  devotion,  shares  with  me  this 
solitude  and,  ever  and  again,  takes  upon  himself  a 
thousand  and  one  troubles  and  worries  in  order  to 
spare  me  the  burden. 

Who  were  all  the  people  that  came?  In  autumn 
there  was  that  fine  editor,  Prell,  a  thorough  Ger- 
man, who  conducts  the  Niederldndische  Wochen- 
schrift  in  Amsterdam,  accompanied  by  his  col- 
league, Mr.  Rostock.  This  German-American  gave 
me  some  interesting  descriptions  of  anti-German 
war  propaganda  in  America.  He  also  brought  with 
him  a  propaganda  picture  which  is  said  to  have  met 
with  great  success  over  there;  it  represented  me 
armed  as  an   ancient   Teutonic  warrior,   fighting 


STRESS  AND  STORM  151 

women  and  children  in  the  attack  on  Verdun.  An- 
other visitor  was  Captain  Konig,  the  famous  com- 
mander of  the  submarine  '*  Deutschland."  Then  there 
were  Mr.  Kan,  the  secretary  general  to  the  Home 
Office,  a  strictly  correct  Dutch  state  official,  to  whose 
truly  humane  care  I  owe  so  much — and  His  Excel- 
lency, von  Berg,  formerly  Supreme  President  of 
East  Prussia  and  afterwards  chief  of  the  depart- 
ment of  home  aifairs,  who  has  proved  one  of  the 
best  and  most  unerringly  faithful  advisers  of  our 
house  in  fortune  and  misfortune;  he  belongs  to  the 
distant  "Borussia"  days  of  Bonn,  was  a  friend  of 
the  Kaiser's  in  his  youth,  and  is  one  of  the  men 
who,  with  deep  human  comprehension,  have  re- 
mained true  to  the  lonely,  aging  man  at  Amerongen. 

The  winter  has  set  in  with  comfortless  and  sombre 
severity.  The  anniversary  of  my  landing  on  the 
island  was  shrouded  in  grayness  and  mist,  like  the 
day  itself.  Leaden  clouds  lay  heavy  over  the  sea 
and  over  the  little  island;  and,  day  and  night,  tem- 
pests swept  across  the  dikes  and  scourged  the  un- 
happy country.  A  few  days'  work  with  Major 
Kurt,  my  former  clever  and  indefatigably  active 
intelligence  officer,  constituted  a  welcome  respite. 

Shortly  before  Christmas,  Miiller,  my  old  adju- 
tant and  chief  of  staff,  arrived  with  Christmas 
presents  from  home — ^presents  sent  by  relatives  and 
touching  tokens  of  affection  from  modest,  unknown 
persons.    For  the  German  children  who,   at  the 


152    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

time,  were  staying  with  good  people  on  the  island 
to  recuperate  from  the  gruesome  effects  of  the  famine 
blockade,  I  arranged  a  Christmas  feast  in  the  little 
Seeblick  Inn  at  Oosterland  with  a  Christmas  tree 
and  all  sorts  of  presents  and  old  German  carols. 

On  December  23,  the  small  and  intimate  circle  of 
my  household  celebrated  Christmas  in  the  parson- 
age; and  next  day  Miildner  and  I,  accompanied  by 
two  gentlemen  appointed  by  the  Dutch  Government, 
crossed  over  to  the  mainland  and  proceeded  to 
Amerongen  to  keep  Christmas  with  my  parents  in 
the  hospitable  home  of  Count  Bentinck.  A  few 
months  before — ^in  October — I  had  seen  my  father 
for  the  first  time  since  that  9th  of  November  of  the 
previous  year,  on  which  day,  after  grave  talks,  I 
had  left  him  in  Spa  under  the  assured  conviction 
that,  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  he  would  remain 
with  the  army. 

Ineffaceable  is  the  image  left  to  me  of  that  man 
with  silver-gray  hair  standing  in  the  light  of  the 
many  candles  on  the  tall,  dark-green  tree;  still  there 
rings  in  my  ear  the  unforgetable  voice  as,  on  that 
Christmas  Eve,  he  read  the  gospel  of  the  first  Noel: 
"Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good-will  toward  men." 

On  the  twenty-seventh  I  travelled  back  to 
Wieringen. 

The  New  Year  came  and  its  days  resembled  the 
days  of  the  year  gone  by.    "Peace  on  earth"? 


STRESS  AND  STORM  153 

Hatred  and  revenge  more  savage  than  ever  before ! 
The  unbroken  determination  to  destroy  on  the  part 
of  France,  who  cannot  pardon  us  the  mendacity  of 
her  theses  on  war  guilt !  The  newspapers  once  more 
full  of  inflammatory  comments  on  the  extradition 
question!  And,  very  amusing  for  me,  the  wild 
rumors  of  my  approaching  or  even  accomplished 
flight  in  an  aeroplane,  a  submarine  or  God  knows 
what!  On  one  occasion  two  American  journalists 
actually  appeared  in  my  cottage  and  asked  permis- 
sion to  assure  themselves  of  my  presence  here  with 
their  own  eyes.  I  willingly  consented  to  their  re- 
quest. 

In  the  beginning  of  February,  the  official  extradi- 
tion list  was  made  known — ^nine  hundred  names, 
with  mine  at  the  head.  On  that  occasion,  for  the 
first  time,  I  interrupted  the  aloofness  of  my  life  here 
on  this  island,  and  addressed  a  telegram  to  the 
Allied  powers,  offering  to  place  myself  voluntarily  at 
their  disposal  in  lieu  of  the  other  men  claimed. 
This  step,  a  simple  outcome  of  my  feelings,  evoked 
no  reply  from  any  one  of  the  powers  and  was  exten- 
sively misinterpreted  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

Buoyed  up  by  the  reports  in  the  various  news- 
papers, I  lived  on  into  March  in  the  hope  that, 
despite  all  the  after  effects  of  the  revolution  fever 
and  party  strife,  our  homeland  was  on  the  road  to 
internal  tranquillity  and  consolidation.  This  belief 
was  suddenly  crushed  by  the  news  of  the  Kapp 


154    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

putsch  and  its  important  consequences.  Over  and 
above  the  pain  caused  by  this  relapse  into  san- 
guinary disturbances,  the  incident  meant  for  me  a 
bitter  disappointment  of  my  hopes  that,  at  perhaps 
no  very  distant  date,  I  might  venture  to  return  to  my 
place  within  my  family  and  on  German  soil  without 
risk  of  introducing  fresh  inflammable  matter  into 
the  Fatherland.  Events  had  demonstrated  that 
the  hour  of  my  return  had  not  yet  come,  that  pos- 
sibly it  still  lay  in  the  distant  future.  Considering 
the  mentality  manifested  by  the  homeland,  I  was 
forced  to  fear  that  I  might  become  the  apple  of  dis- 
cord among  opposing  parties,  to  fear  that — ^hold 
aloof  from  all  political  affairs  as  I  might — ^my  return 
would  be  made  the  countersign  for  fresh  struggles 
for  and  against  existing  conditions  by  one  party  or 
another  without  any  consideration  of  my  wishes  in 
the  matter.  The  reasons  which,  on  November  11, 
1918,  had  decided  me,  with  a  heavy  heart,  to  go  to 
Holland  proved  to  be  still  valid;  hence,  if  I  were 
not  to  render  null  and  void  the  object  of  my  sacrifice 
by  failure  half-way  to  its  completion,  I  had  still  to 
remain  and  to  endure. 

I  frankly  concede  that  those  March  days,  in  which, 
with  intense  bitterness,  I  struggled  through  to  this 
conviction,  held  some  of  the  hardest  hours  of  my  life. 
The  fifteen  months  spent  on  my  island  in  primitive 
surroundings  and  far  from  every  intellectual  stimulus 
and  from  all  culture  had  been  rendered  tolerable  by 


STRESS  AND  STORM  155 

the  belief  that  the  end  of  my  solitude  and  the  re- 
entrance  into  the  circle  of  my  people  and  into  the 
life  of  German  labor  were  within  measurable  dis- 
tance of  being  accomplished.  The  goal  had  seemed 
to  be  attainable  in  perhaps  a  few  months.  This 
open  outlook  had  enabled  me  to  endure  really  very 
great  hardships  with  courage,  and  the  thought  that  it 
was  now  only  a  little  while  longer  had  been  my  best 
solace.  In  this  way  everything  acquired  the  char- 
acter of  the  transitory  and  provisional. 

It  would  have  been  stupid  self-deception  for  me 
to  try  to  maintain  this  confidence  after  those  days 
of  March.  The  old  wounds  that  had  been  ripped 
open  again  could  not  be  healed  in  months;  it  would 
take  years  for  that. 

It  is  strange  how  small,  external  aids  of  nature 
often  give  us  sudden  strength  to  overcome  the  sever- 
est mental  conflicts  that  have  lasted  for  days  and 
nights  together.  I  quite  clearly  see  a  day  at  the 
end  of  March.  I  smell  the  keen  sea  breeze  and  the 
vapors  of  the  ground  as  the  earth  awakened  in  the 
early  spring.  From  the  study  in  my  parsonage  a 
small  veranda,  bitterly  cold  in  winter,  communi- 
cates with  the  vegetable  garden — long  and  narrow 
like  a  towel  and  not  much  bigger.  On  the  day  in 
question,  I  was  standing  in  the  doorway  of  the  ver- 
anda and  looking  pensively  across  the  desolate 
winter-worn  garden.  In  the  previous  spring  we 
had  let  everything  grow  as  rank  and  wild  as  it 


156    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

pleased.  Why  not?  We  should  be  gone  in  three 
months  or  so.  But  now,  at  the  sight  of  the  tangled 
and  unkempt  beds,  the  raggedness  of  the  shrubs, 
and  the  paths  weather-worn  by  frost  and  rain,  I 
felt  suddenly  the  impulse  to  do  something  here. 
Against  a  little  kennel-like  shed  attached  to  the 
house  there  leaned  a  spade.  I  snatched  it  up  with 
an  ardent  will,  and  set  to  digging.  I  went  on  and 
on  till  my  back  ached.  The  work  of  that  hour  was 
a  relief  from  the  inner  burden  I  bore.  I  would  not 
let  the  time  pass  in  vainly  waiting  for  the  hour  of 
my  return  home.  Strive  for  the  attainment  of  your 
wishes  and  your  longings,  but  accept  the  hardships 
of  the  times  and  so  live  that  they,  too,  may  help  to 
determine  the  future.  Since  that  morning,  I  have 
worked  daily  in  our  little  garden.  It  is  restored  to 
order.  Some  one  will  reap  the  fruits — I  or  another. 
That  was  in  the  days  of  the  Kapp  putsch,  I  must 
say  something  more  about  this  unhappy  episode. 
Feeling  and  believing  that  a  monarchical  Govern- 
ment, which  stands  above  all  party  differences,  best 
suits  the  peculiar  political  and  complex  conditions 
of  our  homeland — of  the  German  country  and  the 
German  people — I  should  not  be  true  to  my  convic- 
tions if  I  did  not  frankly  state  that  I  can  understand 
the  temptations  and  allurements  which  enmeshed 
so  many  excellent,  experienced  men — ^men  of  high 
ideals — ^in  this  mistaken  enterprise.  That  they 
lacked  a  proper  understanding  of  the  new  situation 


STRESS  AND  STORM  157 

created  by  the  collapse  of  Germany  and  consequently 
had  not  the  necessary  strength  to  withstand  the 
temptation  of  the  moment  I  deeply  regret.  To 
reckon  with  facts,  even  when  the  facts  do  not  re- 
spond to  our  wishes,  is  more  essential  for  us  Germans 
than  ever,  because  our  prime  and  weightiest  duty 
towards  ourselves  and  our  successors  is  first  to  re- 
build our  demolished  house,  and  every  particle  of 
strength  squandered  in  pursuing  other  aims  is  lost 
to  the  main  object.  So  soon  as  that  house  stands 
once  more  grand  and  firm  on  the  soil  of  our  home, 
our  disease-stricken  and  debilitated  German  na- 
tional feeling  will  find  its  strength  again  in  its  pride 
over  what  has  been  done. 

What  more  have  I  to  report?  A  mild  spring  has 
come — ^my  second  spring  on  the  island.  My  parents 
have  removed  to  their  new  residence. 

:(:      :t:      if:      >ic      :)£ 

In  his  records  published  towards  the  end  of  1919, 
Lord  Fisher  says  with  blunt  candor: — 

"The  essence  of  War  is  Violence.** 
"Moderation  in  War  is  Imbecility." 

"  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Government — of  any  Gov- 
ernment— to  rely  very  largely  upon  the  advice  of 
its  military  and  naval  counsellors;  but  in  the  long 
run,  a  Government  which  is  worthy  of  the  name, 
which  is  adequate  in  the  discharge  of  the  trust  which 


158    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  nation  reposes  in  it,  must  bring  all  these  things 
into  some  kind  of  proportion  one  to  the  other;  and 
sometimes  it  is  not  only  expedient,  but  necessary, 
to  run  risks  and  to  encounter  dangers  which  pure 
naval  or  military  policy  would  warn  you  against." 

If  we  admit  the  correctness  of  these  maxims  of 
Lord  Fisher — and,  for  my  own  part,  I  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  subscribe  to  them — ^we  find  in  them  a  keen 
criticism  of  the  attitude  of  our  Imperial  Government, 
since,  throughout  the  war,  there  was  no  such  co- 
operation between  it  and  the  Higher  Command, 
and,  above  all,  there  was  no  such  preponderance  of 
the  Government.  The  Imperial  Government,  which 
ought  to  have  uttered  the  final  and  decisive  word  in 
all  matters  touching  the  sphere  of  politics,  played 
much  too  passive  a  part.  In  critical  moments,  when 
events  clamored  for  decision  and  for  action,  little 
or  nothing  was  done.  At  the  best,  the  Government 
** weighed  considerations,"  "made  inquiries,"  swayed 
between  the  "to  be  sure"  of  their  discernment  and 
the  "but  nevertheless"  of  their  fear  of  every  ac- 
tivity, so  that  the  right  moment  was  allowed  to 
pass  unseized.  So  it  came  about  that  the  Higher 
Command  occasionally  interfered  more  in  questions 
of  home  and  foreign  policy  than,  according  to  its 
province,  it  ought  strictly  to  have  done.  It  is  this 
which  now  forms  the  principal  accusation  against 
General  Ludendorff.  But  the  Higher  Command 
did  so,  because  it  was  forced  to  do  so;  it  did  so  in 


STRESS  AND  STORM  159 

order  that  something,  at  any  rate,  might  be  under- 
taken for  the  solution  of  pressing  questions,  that 
things  might  not  simply  disappear  in  sand.  If, 
therefore,  the  public  blamed  General  Ludendorff, 
and  still  blame  him  for  having  ruled  like  a  dictator 
inasmuch  as  he  meddled  with  all  political  affairs 
and  with  problems  of  substitutes  of  every  kind,  food, 
raw  materials  and  labor,  no  one  acquainted  with  the 
actual  circumstances  and  events  is  likely  to  deny  that 
there  is  a  grain  of  truth  in  the  assertion.  He  will  have 
to  point  out,  however,  that  General  Ludendorff  was 
compelled  to  interfere  by  the  inactivity  and  weak- 
ness of  the  authorities  and  personages  whose  right 
and  whose  duty  it  was  to  fulfil  the  tasks  arising  out 
of  the  matters  in  question.  I  could  not  contradict 
Ludendorff  when  he  used  to  say  to  me:  "All  that  is 
really  no  business  of  mine;  but  something  must  be 
done,  and  if  I  don't  do  it,  nothing  will  be  done  at 
home,'*  meaning  by  the  Government.  In  such 
moments,  my  heart  well  understood  this  energetic 
and  resolute  man,  albeit  my  reason  told  me  that 
there  was  too,  too  much  piled  upon  his  shoulders. 
Every  man's  capacities  have  their  limit;  and  no 
day  has  more  than  24  hours.  Hence  it  was  impos- 
sible for  one  man,  even  one  of  our  best,  to  supervise 
and  direct  both  the  enormous  apparatus  of  our 
Higher  Command  and  also  every  domain  of  our 
economics  and  of  our  home  and  foreign  policy.  The 
necessity  of  adapting  himself  to  such  excessive  tasks 


160    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

was  bound  to  cause  some  detriment  to  the  powers 
of  the  most  highly  gifted  person. 

The  unfavorable  issue  of  the  Battle  of  the  Mame 
in  September,  1914,  frustrated  the  prospects  of 
Schlieffen's  programme  of  first  rapidly  prostrating 
France  and  then  dealing  with  Russia.  That  we 
were  faced  with  a  war  of  indefinite  duration  now 
seemed  probable  and,  personally — in  the  year  1915 
— I  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  in  the  event  of  an 
excessive  prolongation  of  the  war,  time  would  be  on 
the  side  of  our  adversaries.  It  was  bound  to  give 
them  the  opportunity  of  mobilizing  the  immeasur- 
able resources  of  the  world  which  lay  like  a  hinter- 
land behind  their  fronts.  It  would  give  them  the 
chance  of  marshalling  these  against  us,  while  our 
mewed-up  Central  Europe  had  to  confine  itself  to 
the  exploitation  of  its  own  raw  material  which, 
moreover,  had  not  been  supplemented  by  any  sys- 
tematic pre-war  preparation.  Time,  too,  would  af- 
ford our  adversaries  opportunity  to  levy  and  train 
enormous  armies  and  to  reduce  to  a  minimum  the 
calls  made  upon  the  individual  fighter;  whereas  we 
should  be  forced  to  demand  from  every  German  the 
sacrifice  of  his  last  ounce  of  energy,  thus,  in  the  end, 
exhausting  our  strength  by  the  inequality  of  the 
terms  imposed. 

From  the  moment  that  this  was  recognized,  it  be- 
came the  duty  and  task  of  the  leading  statesman, 
the   Imperial  Chancellor,   continually  to  consider 


STRESS  AND  STORM  161 

political  steps  for  the  conclusion  of  the  war  more 
or  less  independently  of  the  plans  and  views  of 
the  military  leadership.  Whatever  successes  were 
achieved  by  the  army,  were  they  never  so  brilliant, 
the  far-sighted  politician  ought  to  have  made  use 
of  them  solely  and  simply  as  footholds  and  rungs 
for  him  to  climb  by;  on  no  account  ought  he  to 
have  been  dazzled  by  them;  on  no  account  ought  he 
to  have  adopted  towards  the  Higher  Command  the 
attitude:  "Finish  your  work  first;  then  it  will  be 
my  turn,  for  the  present  there  is  nothing  for  me  to 
do."  But  had  Herr  von  Bethmann  HoUweg  the 
least  capacity  to  will  vigorously  or  boldly  to  dare 
anything?  Had  he  survived  the  terrible  collapse  of 
his  "England  theory"  or  the  political  hara-kiri  of  his 
declaration  of  August  4,  1914,  as  a  man  psychically 
unimpaired?  Be  that  as  it  may,  our  political  des- 
tiny continued  to  remain  intrusted  to  this  man, 
whose  hands  had  been  palsied  by  ill-starred  enter- 
prises and  whose  eyes  had  acquired  the  lack-lustre 
of  resignation.  When  I  seek  for  any  energy  in  Beth- 
mann Hollweg,  there  occurs  forcibly  to  my  mind  an 
episode  told  me,  with  every  guarantee  for  its  ve- 
racity, by  a  Hamburg  ship  owner  in  the  summer  of 
1915.  Ballin,  he  said,  had  called  on  the  Imperial 
Chancellor  and,  out  of  the  wealth  of  his  knowledge 
concerning  world  affairs,  had  urgently  talked  to 
him  about  the  general  situation.  When  he  stopped, 
Bethmann  heaved  a  deep  sigh,  drew  his  hand  across 


162    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

his  forehead  and  said:  **  I  only  wish  I  were  dead. ..." 
In  order  to  rouse  him  out  of  his  lethargy,  Ballin, 
with  an  attempt  to  laugh,  replied:  "I  dare  say  you 
do.  No  doubt  it  would  just  suit  you  admirably  to 
lie  in  your  coffin  all  day  long  and  watch  other  people 
toiling  and  worrying." 

Quite  certainly  it  would  have  been  no  easy  matter, 
and  for  that  discouraged  heart  it  would  have  been 
impossible,  to  detach  one  of  our  enemies  from  the 
alliance  and  come  to  a  separate  understanding  with 
him;  but  that  it  would  have  been  useless,  as  the 
Foreign  Office  assumed,  to  make  the  attempt,  I 
failed  to  see  during  the  war  and  I  fail  to  see  still. 
Separate  peace  might,  I  conceive,  have  been  con- 
cluded perhaps  with  Russia,  say  in  the  early  sum- 
mer of  1915,  immediately  after  our  break  through 
at  Gorlice.  Still  the  difficulties  of  negotiating 
with  Russia  at  that  time  were  very  great.  Nicolai 
Nicolaievitch  and  the  entire  Russian  war  party 
were  at  the  helm  of  affairs,  the  Entente  agreement 
to  conclude  no  separate  peace  was  still  quite  young, 
and  Italy's  entrance  into  the  war  dated  only  from 
May.  But,  for  all  that,  it  is  impossible  to  say  what 
attitude  Russia  would  have  adopted  towards  pro- 
posals on  our  part  if  they  had  included  the  preser- 
vation of  her  frontier-line  of  August  1,  1914,  and  a 
big  financial  loan  or  the  guarantee  of  her  financial 
obligations  towards  France. 

In  any  case,  the  chances  of  a  separate  arrange- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  163 

ment  with  Russia  were  excellent  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  summer  of  1915,  when  Russia  was  in  very 
serious  military  difficulties  and  the  Tsar  had  ap- 
pointed the  admittedly  pro-German  Stuermer,  to 
the  premiership.  I  considered  it,  at  the  time,  an 
unmistakable  sign  of  willingness  to  negotiate,  and 
I  urged  our  leaders  to  grasp  the  opportunity.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  in  the  course  of  the  summer  and  in 
the  early  autumn,  numerous  deliberations  of  a  gen- 
eral character  were  carried  on  and  terms  consid- 
ered; but  all  this  took  place  privately  among  Ger- 
man diplomatists  or  extended  only  to  conversations 
between  them  and  the  Higher  Command.  Prac- 
tical deductions  which  might  have  resulted  in  the 
inauguration  of  relations  with  Stuermer  were  not 
discussed.  We  got  no  farther  than  empty  lamen- 
tations and  futile  complaints  that  the  war  had 
completely  cut  us  off  from  all  possibility  of  com- 
municating with  people  across  the  frontier,  that  we 
could  not  join  them,  "the  water  was  much  too 
deep." 

If  it  be  contended  that  it  is  all  very  easy,  now 
that  the  war  has  been  lost,  to  come  forward  and 
say  "I  always  told  you  so;  if  you  had  listened  to 
me,  things  might  have  turned  out  differently,"  I 
would  meet  such  not  altogether  unjustifiable  argu- 
ments by  quoting  some  thoughts  and  suggestions 
from  a  memorial  drawoi  up  and  addressed  by  me 
to  all  persons  concerned  on  December  18,   1915, 


164    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

that  is  to  say,  at  a  time  when  such  ideas  might  have 
borne  fruit.  In  this  memorial,  I  maintained  that 
we  ought  to  strain  every  nerve  to  achieve  a  separate 
peace  with  one  of  our  opponents.  Russia  appeared 
to  me  to  be  the  most  suitable.  At  the  end  of  the 
memorial  I  wrote: — 

"What  our  people  have  accomplished  in  this  war 
will  only  be  properly  valued  by  historians  of  a 
future  date.  But  we  will  not  flatter  ourselves  with 
any  complaisant  self-deception.  The  sacrifice  of 
blood  already  made  by  the  German  people  is  enor- 
mous. ...  It  is  not  my  office  here  to  marshal  the 
figures;  but  a  series  of  very  grave  indications  ought 
to  make  us  consider  how  long  we  can  continue  to 
fill  up  the  gaps  in  our  army.  I  am  quite  aware 
that,  if  we  were  to  drain  our  national  energy  in 
the  same  way  as  France,  the  war  might  be  con- 
tinued for  a  very  long  time.  But  this  is  just  what 
ought  to  be  avoided.  Every  one  who  is  at  all  in 
intimate  touch  with  the  front  is  deeply  saddened 
when  he  sees  what  children  now  find  their  way  into 
the  trenches.  We  ought  to  consider  that,  after  the 
war,  Germany  will  need  forces  to  enable  her  to  ful- 
fil her  mission.  I  will  not  speak  here  of  the  finan- 
cial situation  because,  I  am  not  in  a  position  to 
form  a  competent  opinion.  In  an  economic  sense, 
Germany  has  adapted  herself  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  war  most  admirably;  but  still  in  this  domain 
also  should  be  the  desire  not  to  prolong  the  war  un- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  165 

necessarily,  as  that  would  cause  too  heavy  a  loss. 
Moreover,  despite  all  the  wise  measures  of  the 
Government,  the  progressive  rise  in  the  cost  of 
living  continues  to  weigh  upon  the  poorer  classes  of 
the  population,  and  there  is  a  great  lack  of  fodder 
in  the  country.  All  this,  with  all  that  it  involves, 
makes  a  curtailment  of  the  war  very  desirable;  so 
that  the  answer  to  the  question  'What  can  we  at- 
tain?* is  simply  this: — 

"If  we  get  a  separate  peace  with  Russia,  we  can 
make  a  clean  sweep  in  the  west.  If  this  is  im- 
possible, we  ought  to  endeavor  to  bring  about  an 
understanding  with  England.  Only  in  one  of  these 
ways,  is  it,  I  believe,  feasible  to  bring  the  end 
within  sight;  and  an  end  must  be  made  visible,  un- 
less we  are  to  fight  on  till  our  country  is  utterly 
exhausted. 

"Our  present  favorable  situation  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  proceed  on  the  lines  suggested." 

That  is  what  I  wrote  and  advocated  before 
Christmas,  1915.  It  had  no  effect  whatever;  I 
might  as  well  have  shouted  to  the  winds. 

Similar  circumstances  arose  the  following  year; 
but  it  was  not  until  the  autumn  of  1916  that  the 
Imperial  Chancellor  had  carried  his  ponderings  to 
the  conclusion  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  a  sepa- 
rate peace  with  Russia:  Russia,  he  said,  was  under 
the  dictation  of  England,  and  England  was  for  con- 
tinuing the  war.    Meantime  we  had  truly  gained  a 


166    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

success  which  was  bound  to  exclude  all  possibility 
of  an  amicable  understanding  with  Tsarist  Russia; 
we  had  created  the  Kingdom  of  Poland  and,  in  the 
summer  of  1916,  we  had  drafted  a  Polish  programme 
that  could  not  but  act  like  a  blow  in  the  face  to  the 
Tsar  and  to  all  Russia.  Stuermer  fell;  and,  in  the 
early  spring  of  1917,  the  Tsar  was  swept  off  the 
throne  by  the  waves  of  the  revolution  which  the 
Entente  had  been  promoting.  During  the  months 
which  followed  the  outbreak  of  that  revolution,  the 
east  front  was  quiet.  It  was  not  until  the  last  day 
of  June  that  the  Russians  attacked  again  under 
Brussilov.  A  fortnight  later,  our  counter-attack 
pierced  their  lines  at  Tarnopol  and  a  great  victory 
was  gained  over  the  already  decaying  Russian  army. 
At  about  the  same  time,  namely,  on  July  12, 
Bethmann  resigned.  In  the  main,  the  chancellor's 
remarks  in  his  second  volume  concerning  my  share 
in  the  proceedings  are  correct,  and  I  have  nothing  of 
moment  to  add  to  them.  Herr  Michaelis,  a  man 
of  unproven  political  possibilities  and  concerning 
whose  capacities  or  incapacities  no  one,  at  that 
time,  was  able  to  express  a  convincing  judgment, 
took  over  the  inheritance.  According  to  what  I 
heard,  Valentini,  wringing  his  hands  and  crying  "A 
kingdom  for  a  chancellor,"  stumbled,  in  his  search, 
across  this  official,  who,  within  the  scope  of  his  pre- 
vious labors,  had  certainly  merited  well.  I  myself 
had  never  yet  met  Dr.  Michaelis.    He  was  now  in- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  167 

troduced  to  me  as  an  exceptionally  capable  man  to 
whom  one  might  apply  the  proverb  "Still  waters 
run  deep."  This  was  in  July,  1917,  just  before 
his  presentation  to  the  Kaiser,  and  when,  at  the 
command  of  His  Majesty,  I  was  to  negotiate  with 
the  party  leaders  at  Schloss  Bellevue  in  connection 
with  the  Bethmann  crisis.  The  conversation  turned 
upon  the  burning  question  of  the  situation  created 
by  the  action  of  Erzberger  in  the  Reichstag  Com- 
mittee, and  still  more  upon  the  bad  impression  made 
upon  the  enemy  by  the  matter  and  form  of  the 
peace  resolution,  whose  drafting  was  so  impolitic, 
unwise  and  clumsy  that  it  had  seriously  injured  our 
interests.  Instead  of  being  the  expression  of  a 
genuine  desire  for  peace  on  the  part  of  an  unbroken 
combatant,  this  resolution  looked  like  a  sign  of 
military  weakness  and  waning  resistance.  Only  the 
reverse  of  the  desired  effect  could  be  expected.  I 
found  Michaelis  in  general  quite  of  my  own  opin- 
ion; but  I  could  not  induce  him,  in  this  short  inter- 
view, to  disclose  his  own  ideas,  and  consequently  I 
could  form  no  image  of  the  plans  he  carried  in  his 
pocket  for  grappling  with  the  exceedingly  difficult 
task  which  was  to  fall  to  him  as  Bethmann's  heir. 
But  in  Dr.  Michaelis,  the  best  of  intentions  coupled 
with  pious  confidence  was  recognizable.  That  was 
not  exactly  a  great  deal;  but  I  said  to  myself:  He 
is  about  to  present  himself  to  His  Majesty,  he  knows 
your  antipathy  to  the  policy  prevailing  hitherto 


168    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

and  does  not  know  how  much  he  can  venture  to  say 
to  you;  you  must  wait  and  see.  In  any  case,  the 
change  of  chancellors  appeared  to  provide  the  right 
moment  for  me  to  risk  raising  my  voice  once  again 
and  to  place  my  view  of  things  before  the  deciding 
authorities.  I  was  induced  to  take  this  course  by 
the  conviction  that,  after  all,  the  criticism  which  I 
had  expressed  upon  the  Bethmann  HoUweg  Govern- 
ment, a  judgment  upon  a  system  which,  with  Beth- 
mann's  exit,  had  come  to  a  certain  formal  close, 
should  not  exhaust  itself  in  rejection  and  negation; 
I  felt  that  he  who  claimed  the  right  to  criticise  as- 
sumed the  duty  of  proposing  something  better  and 
of  defending  it  both  in  the  present  and  in  the  future. 
Consequently,  in  the  summer  of  1917,  while  we 
were  fighting  in  Russia,  I  worked  out  another 
memorial  and  laid  it  simultaneously  before  the 
Kaiser,  the  Imperial  Chancellor  and  the  Higher 
Command.  It  came  into  being  in  the  days  when, 
as  leader  of  my  army,  I  had  just  gained  on  the 
Aisne  and  in  the  Champagne  an  extensive  defensive 
victory  against  an  attempt  of  79  French  divisions 
to  pierce  my  lines;  and  I  will  gladly  leave  it  to 
public  opinion  to  decide  whether,  in  this  memorial, 
the  "war  fanatic"  and  "victor"  is  speaking  or 
whether  it  is  a  witness  to  my  desire  for  an  honorable 
peace.  This  memorial  was  written  after  a  conver- 
sation with  the  clever  and  politically  far-sighted 
Dr.  Victor  Naumann,  but  only  those  paragraphs  re- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  169 

ferring  to  our  foreign  policy  have  any  significance 
for  my  then  attitude  towards  the  peace  question  in 
the  East.  I  quote  here  the  principal  passages,  be- 
cause, taken  together  as  a  whole,  they  show  my  atti- 
tude at  that  time  towards  many  other  important 
questions  connected  with  the  war: — 

"The  change  in  the  leadership  of  the  empire, 
with  which  is  to  begin  a  new  era  in  German  and 
Russian  policy,  will  naturally  necessitate  the  draw- 
ing up  of  a  balance  concerning  the  past,  in  order  to 
find  a  more  or  less  reliable  basis  for  future  plans. 
In  my  opinion,  therefore,  the  following  points  must 
be  determined: — 

1)  What  stocks  have  we  of  raw  materials  of 

every  kind  ? 

2)  What  is  our  maximum  capacity  for  work- 

ing up  these  materials  ? 

3)  What  stocks  of  coal  do  we  possess  ? 

4)  What  stocks  of  food  and  fodder  have  we  ? 

5)  What  is  the  position  of  our  transport  facili- 

ties? 

"When  this  has  been  determined,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  decide  how  many  military  recruits  Germany 
can  call  up  and  train  next  year  without  imperilling 
her  absolutely  essential  economic  capacity. 

"But  this  is  not  all.  We  must  also  consider  the 
moral  values,  the  mood  of  the  people;  and  in  test- 
ing these,  one  may  with  tolerable  certainty  predict 
that  the  longing  for  peace  in  the  masses  of  the 


170    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

population  has  become  very  strong.  The  enormous 
sacrifices  of  blood  during  the  three  years  of  war 
already  experienced — sacrifices  which  have  cast  al- 
most every  German  home  and  every  German  family 
into  mourning — ^the  prospect  of  fresh  and  severe 
losses  of  valuable  human  life,  the  mental  depression 
caused  and  augmented  by  privations  of  every  kind, 
the  dearth  of  food  and  coal — all  these  things  com- 
bined have  awakened  a  dissatisfaction  in  wide 
circles  of  the  people  (and  not  by  any  means  only 
among  the  social  democrats)  which  is  as  hampering 
to  the  continuance  of  the  war  as  it  is  disintegrating 
to  the  monarchical  idea. 

"  If  it  be  added  that  the  assured  hope  of  a  rapid 
conclusion  of  the  U-boat  warfare  has  not  been  ful- 
filled, this  serious  mood  ceases  to  cause  surprise. 

"We  ought  to  construct,  from  the  best  accessible 
data,  schedules  of  the  resources  of  our  allies  parallel 
with  those  drawn  up  concerning  our  own;  for  only 
so  can  we  learn  what  we  have  to  expect  and  what 
we  can  accomplish. 

"All  this  information  in  regard  to  ourselves  and 
our  allies  having  been  collected,  we  shall  have  to 
obtain  an  approximately  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
forces  and  reserves  of  the  enemy.  Without  exposing 
oneself  to  the  reproach  of  being  a  pessimist,  one 
may  say  at  once  that  a  comparison  of  the  schedules 
will  scarcely  turn  out  favorable  to  ourselves.  The 
natural  deduction  is  that,  even  at  the  best,  an  at- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  171 

tack  on  our  part  is  no  longer  to  be  thought  of,  but 
only  a  maintenance  of  our  position  coupled  with 
intensive  prosecution  of  the  U-boat  warfare  for  a 
certain  period.  If  this  expires  without  having 
brought  us  any  hope  of  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  we 
must  seek  the  peace  which  our  diplomatists  will 
meanwhile  have  been  preparing.  This  duty  is  all 
the  more  incumbent  upon  us  inasmuch  as  we  must 
say  to  ourselves  that  our  chief  ally,  Austria-Hun- 
gary, by  reason  of  her  economic  and,  still  more,  her 
political  conditions  at  home,  will  be  unable  to  prose- 
cute the  war  for  more  than  a  moderate  length  of 
time.  I  need  scarcely  add  that,  in  Turkey  also, 
the  situation  is  anything  but  rosy. 

"Now  I  do  not  for  one  moment  overlook  the  fact 
that  our  adversaries  also  find  themselves  in  a  diffi- 
cult position  or  that  they  dread  another  winter 
campaign  extremely.  Yet,  there  are  two  factors 
which  have  recently  evoked  a  certain  change  of 
feeling.  The  first  is  America's  entrance  into  the 
struggle,  and  the  hopes  which  it  has  awakened;  the 
second  is  the  overhasty  action  of  the  Reichstag  (in 
the  peace  resolution),  which,  in  enemy  and  neutral 
countries,  is  regarded  as  an  absolute  declaration  of 
bankruptcy.  To-day,  in  London  and  Paris,  and 
even  in  Rome,  people  believe  that  they  may  wait 
for  us  to  lay  down  our  arms,  since  it  is  now  only  a 
question  of  time. 

"Now,  what  are  we  to  do  in  order  to  persist  with 


172    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

honor  and,  if  possible,  with  success,  despite  all 
these  things?  First,  what  are  we  to  do  at  home? 
We  must  have  maintenance  of  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  individual  offices  of  the  empire 
without  prejudice  to  united  action.  Although,  there- 
fore, the  leading  minister  bears  the  full  responsibility 
for  our  home  and  foreign  policy,  wholesome  co- 
operation with  the  Higher  Command,  the  Admiralty, 
etc.,  is  indispensable.  The  larger  federal  states  must 
also  be  kept  informed  as  to  our  situation.  Serious 
attention  must  continue  to  be  paid  to  the  regulation 
of  our  coal  and  food  supplies. 

"Foreign  Policy. — ^Here  again  only  one  will  can 
dominate,  but  it  must  be  aided  by  the  mutual  and 
candid  information  of  the  directing  offices,  e.  g., 
the  Foreign  Office,  the  Higher  Command,  the  Ad- 
miralty. Candor  towards  our  allies  is  a  duty.  So 
far  as  possible  we  must  spare  the  neutrals  and  defer 
to  their  wishes. 

"Every  idea  of  seeking  peace  via  England  is  to 
be  given  up,  and  a  resolute  endeavor  made  to  ob- 
tain peace  with  Russia.  There  is  hope  that,  with 
the  repulse  of  the  present  attack,  a  change  of  mood 
will  take  place  in  Russia;  then  we  must  seize  the 
right  opportunity.  We  may  also  advise  the  neu- 
trals that,  in  general,  we  are  not  averse  to  peace  on 
the  basis  of  the  status  quo  ante;  they  will  let  the 
other  side  know.  Simultaneously,  deft  negotiators 
must  use  persuasion  with  the  Russians. 


STRESS  AND  STORM  173 

"It  is  almost  certain  that  the  West  will  decline. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  hoped  that  Russia  will 
seek  peace.  In  this  case,  we  shall  have  created  a 
situation  which  will  render  England — already  groan- 
ing under  the  effects  of  the  U-boat  privations — some- 
what dubious  as  to  whether  she  and  her  allies  shall 
fight  on  or,  within  a  reasonable  time,  enter  into 
negotiations  with  us.  Should  Russia  not  give  way, 
then  we  can  come  before  the  people  and  say:  'We 
have  done  everything  to  bring  about  peace.  It  is 
now  demonstrated  that  our  enemies  wish  to  de- 
stroy us;  therefore  we  must  strain  every  nerve  to 
frustrate  their  aim.'  Possibly  such  action  may 
bring  us  unsuspected  help  out  of  the  ranks  of  the 
people.  Under  all  circumstances,  it  is  our  duty  to 
work  for  a  not  too  distant  peace;  for,  unless  the 
U-boats  shall  have  brought  England  to  reason  within 
the  next  few  months,  their  further  employment  will 
not  have  the  same  effect  as  heretofore.  Distress 
with  us  will  increase,  and  the  replenishment  of  our 
reserves  of  men  will  become  more  difficult  from  day 
to  day.  The  vital  energy  of  our  people  will  be  di- 
minished by  further  blood-letting;  in  the  interior, 
strikes  and  revolts  may  occur;  a  failure  in  the  pro- 
duction of  ammunition  may  render  us  defenseless. 
The  financial  burden  of  the  empire  will  swell  to 
gigantic  proportions;  our  allies  will  possibly  seek 
separate  peace;  the  neutrals  may  be  forced  to  join 
the  enemy. 


174    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

"To  carry  out  a  policy  properly  one  must  have 
the  courage  to  look  facts  in  the  face.  A  danger 
recognized  is  a  danger  half  surmounted.  Just  now 
the  preservation  of  the  dynasty,  the  maintenance  of 
the  German  Empire  and  the  existence  of  the  Ger- 
man people  are  all  concerned.  If  our  enemies  dic- 
tate peace,  the  last  syllable  of  Hohenzollem,  Prus- 
sian and  German  history  will  have  been  written. 
It  must  not  come  to  that;  and  therefore,  it  is  our 
duty,  if  so  it  must  be,  to  attain  a  peace  of  compro- 
mise. Such  a  peace  would  truly  be  a  disappoint- 
ment; but  an  indefinite  prolongation  of  the  war 
might  see  us,  in  the  spring  of  1918,  facing  the  whole 
world  alone,  shorn  of  our  allies,  bleeding  from  the 
severe  wounds  of  a  three  and  a  half  years'  war  and 
threatened  with  destruction. 

"If  we  conclude  an  early  peace  with  our  eastern 
adversary,  Russia  will  lie  open  to  us  as  a  domain 
for  economic  expansion.  If  that  peace  comes  too 
late,  then  we  come  too  late,  because  the  Americans 
will  have  gained  a  firm  footing  in  that  vast  realm. 
But  we  must  also  remember  that,  with  an  early 
peace,  we  should  have  financially  won  the  war. 

"One  thing  is  certain:  if  we  but  maintain  our- 
selves in  this  war,  we  shall  be  the  real  victors,  be- 
cause we  shall  have  fought  the  whole  world  without 
being  destroyed.  This  will  procure  us  after  the  war 
an  unexampled  prestige  and  an  enormous  increase 
of  power.    Our  position  resembles  that  of  Frederick 


STRESS  AND  STORM  175 

the  Great,  prior  to  the  Peace  of  Hubertsburg.  He 
stands  rightly  recorded  in  history  as  the  victor,  be- 
cause he  was  not  defeated. 

(Signed)  "WILHELM, 
Crown  Prince  of  the  German  Empire  and  of  Prussia." 

In  March,  1918,  roughly  three-quarters  of  a  year 
after  the  drafting  of  my  memorial,  we  concluded  a 
peace  with  revolutionary  Russia.  What  a  peace! 
On  the  one  hand  with  the  dominating  demeanor  of 
the  victor  who  dictatorially  imposes  his  will, — on  the 
other  hand  yielding  and  accommodatingly  trustful 
in  questions  that  concerned  our  vitals.  Joffe  was 
permitted  to  come  to  Berlin  and  circulate  his  rou- 
bles in  Germany  for  the  world  revolution.  Once 
more  the  old  half-and-half  methods. 

No,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  the  Government  did  not 
make  a  sufficiently  earnest  effort  to  supplement  the 
work  of  the  sword  with  vigorous,  prompt  and  ade- 
quate political  measures. 

In  quoting  the  memorials  addressed  by  me,  in 
December  1915,  and  in  July  1917,  to  the  Kaiser, 
the  Higher  Command  and  the  Imperial  Chancellor, 
I  have  demonstrated  that,  during  the  war,  I  repeat- 
edly and  urgently  advocated  preparing  the  way  for 
a  peace  by  compromise.  Of  course  the  drafts  re- 
ferred to  were  only  two  of  the  many  efforts  which 
I  made  in  the  same  direction.  It  would  vastly  ex- 
ceed the  limits  proposed  for  these  memoirs  if  I  were 


176    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

to  give  chapter  and  verse  for  all  that  I  undertook, 
subsequent  to  the  Battle  of  the  Mame,  for  the  carry- 
ing out  of  my  ideas  which  I  never  recanted,  that  the 
indefinite  prolonging  of  the  war  would  be  intoler- 
able, both  for  those  at  the  front  and  those  at  home, 
as  well  as  the  urgent  need  for  a  compromise,  and 
how  advantageous  (even  though  it  might  appear 
scarcely  beneficial  at  first)  this  compromise  would 
be  compared  with  a  similar  agreement  reached  after 
complete  exhaustion.  Besides  this  from  my  own 
knowledge  gained  in  personal  contact  with  soldiers 
and  civilians  I  have  made  attempts  to  correct  the 
erroneous  and  optimistic  notions  entertained  in  cer- 
tain high  quarters  concerning  the  privations  of  the 
people  at  home,  about  the  power  of  endurance  of 
the  troops  at  the  front  who  had  been  overburdened 
during  the  past  year  and  about  many  similar  ques- 
tions.   To  all  these  questions  I  may  refer  later  on. 

"But,"  many  will  say,  "in  public  and  especially 
to  the  troops,  the  Crown  Prince,  more  than  once, 
both  by  word  of  mouth  and  in  writing,  expressed 
and  demanded  determination  to  conquer  and  con- 
fidence of  victory.  He  wished  to  prevent  certain 
German  journals,  which  tended  to  damp  this  con- 
fidence, from  reaching  the  front." 

Yes,  assuredly  I  did !  And,  in  doing  so,  I  fulfilled 
my  duty  as  an  officer  and  a  soldier,  just  as  I  fulfilled 
my  duty  as  a  politically  thinking  man  and  as  Crown 
Prince  of  the  German  Empire  and  of  Prussia  when 


STRESS  AND  STORM  177 

I  endeavored  to  induce  the  proper  authorities  to 
face  unwelcome  facts  and  to  strive  for  a  peace  by 
compromise.  I  am  of  the  firm  opinion  that  each  of 
these  apparently  so  opposite  actions  was  perfectly 
justified  and  that  they  were,  indeed,  complementary. 
I  only  regret  that,  as  an  adviser  without  political  re- 
sponsibility, I  possessed  neither  the  means  nor  the 
power  to  influence  successfully  the  politically  re- 
sponsible persons,  and  that  I  had  to  look  on  while 
political  resolutions  and  irresolution  were,  as  I  be- 
lieved, determining  unhappily  the  destiny  of  Ger- 
many. 

I  referred  just  now  to  my  suggested  prohibition 
at  the  front  of  various  journals  which  systematically 
injured  our  prospects  of  winning  the  war.  At  that 
time  the  democrats  talked  with  great  indignation 
about  a  deliberate  gagging  of  the  press  and  of  the 
public  if  the  idea  were  carried  out — at  that  time, 
forsooth,  when  it  was  essential  to  preserve  for  its 
sole  task  the  army  on  which  everything  depended 
and  to  shield  it  from  any  deteriorating  or  disin- 
tegrating influences.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  nothing 
was  done;  the  evil  was  permitted  to  continue  its 
corrosion. 

Only  with  the  support  of  a  people  determined  to 
win  and  convinced  of  victory  could  the  Government 
risk  steps  to  bring  about  a  separate  peace — an  un- 
derstanding with  one  or  another  of  our  adversaries. 
Every  effort  in  this  direction  was  futile,  nay,  per- 


178    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

nicious  and  injurious,  when  we  gave  the  impression 
of  being  unable  to  continue  the  war  and  urgently 
needing  peace.  Useless  and  senseless,  therefore, 
were  the  offers  of  peace  publicly  shouted  out  to 
the  world — offers  which  also  gave  no  clear  notion 
of  what  we  really  wanted.  These  offers — as  any 
statesmen  ought  to  have  foreseen — only  served  to 
strengthen  our  enemies'  hopes  of  an  early  collapse 
of  our  country,  to  increase  their  confidence  and 
their  determination  to  hold  on  till  the  "knock-out- 
blow"  all  to  our  detriment,  all  to  our  doom. 

For  the  duration  of  the  war  and  to  carry  it  to  a 
fortunate  issue,  determination  to  win  and  confidence 
of  victory  were  only  to  be  maintained  in  people  or 
army  if,  at  the  head  of  affairs,  stood  not  merely  vigor- 
ous and  bold  military  leaders  but  likewise  an  equally 
capable  Government,  which,  during  the  bloody 
struggle  on  land,  at  sea,  in  the  air,  should  not  for 
one  second  lose  control  of  the  numberless  threads 
of  its  foreign  policy  and  which  should  never  allow 
the  slightest  favorable  movement  of  events  in  the 
war-fevered  world  to  escape  the  grasp  of  its  ever- 
ready  hand — a  Government  that,  with  keen  fore- 
sight, yet  with  wise  recognition  and  consideration  of 
what  was  possible,  was  able  to  see  before  it  the  road 
along  which  it  could  lead  the  country  as  rapidly  as 
possible  to  a  happy  and  honorable  peace. 

The  only  Government  that  could  be  a  sure  guide 
to  satisfactory  peace  was  one  which,  by  means  of  a 


STRESS  AND  STORM  179 

wise  home  policy,  had  under  complete  control  all  the 
various  elements,  classes,  members  and  parties  of 
the  entire  people. 

That  it  was  particularly  difficult  to  concentrate 
into  one  dynamic  entity  the  variety  of  opinions, 
wishes  and  impulses  of  a  people  so  inclined  to  inter- 
nal differences  and  quarrels  as  the  Germans  is  quite 
true.  The  sense  of  nationality  that,  in  such  countries 
as  England  and  France,  fused  all  parties  into  a  single 
will  for  the  whole  duration  of  the  war,  unfortunately 
suffered  manifest  disintegration  among  us  Germans 
by  reason  of  the  multiplicity  of  party  views  which 
soon  began  to  be  active,  and  through  which  the  idea 
of  a  party  truce  was  undermined  and  our  vigor  of  at- 
tack weakened.  Nor  was  it,  by  any  means,  only 
among  the  parties  of  the  left  that  such  sins  were  com- 
mitted against  the  great  idea  of  unselfish  patriotism. 
By  leaving  to  the  war  speculator  unlimited  indepen- 
dence and  unbounded  opportunities  of  profit  and  by 
not  organizing  properly  the  industries  essential  to 
the  existence  of  the  struggling  State,  our  mistaken 
economic  policy  was  responsible  for  the  early  reap- 
pearance of  the  old  social  and  economic  animosities 
which  soon  became  very  bitter.  Moreover,  an  abso- 
lutely morbid  tendency  to  a  mistaken  objectivity 
at  all  cost  repeatedly  drove  a  large  portion  of  our 
German  people,  even  during  the  war,  into  extensive 
discussions  and  to  self-examination  that  bordered 
upon  mental  chastisement.  This  was  done  openly 
before  the  whole  world,  and  ultimately  made  the 


180    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

world  believe  that  the  conscientious  amongst  us 
doubted  the  justice  of  our  deeds  and  aims.  In  Eng- 
land, all  parties  had  only  one  principle  for  every  pro- 
gramme and  every  action  of  their  Government,  the 
strong  principle  of  a  firmly  established  nation,  the 
principle  of  "right  or  wrong — my  country." 

A  miserable  hero  of  such  mistaken  objectivity,  a 
man  in  whose  heart  the  bright  flame  of  the  greater 
idea  could  never  blaze  up,  was  the  first  war  chan- 
cellor. His  Reichstag  declaration  on  August  4, 
1914,  concerning  our  advance  into  Belgium,  is  the 
great  and  bitter  classic  example  of  his  incapacity 
to  understand  either  the  soul  of  his  own  people  or 
the  mentality  of  our  adversaries.  On  that  4th  of 
August,  1914,  before  a  single  shot  had  been  fired  over 
yonder,  we  Germans  had  lost  the  first  great  battle  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world. 

And  blind  he  remained  to  all  the  events  and  de- 
velopments around  him  throughout  the  long  years 
of  the  war  during  which  we  had  to  put  up  with  him. 

Thus,  he  stressed  again  and  again  the  special 
merits,  as  he  called  them,  of  the  social-democratic 
party  in  offering  to  co-operate  at  the  outset  of  the 
war.  As  though,  at  that  time,  the  working  masses 
would  not  simply  have  swept  away  their  leaders  if 
they  had  dared  to  express  themselves  against  co- 
operation !  At  that  moment,  the  entire  German  peo- 
ple were  unanimous  in  their  deep  conviction  that  we 
were  on  the  threshold  of  a  war  forced  upon  us,  of  an 


STRESS  AND  STORM  181 

inevitable  war  from  which  we  could  be  delivered  only 
by  resolutely  and  victoriously  struggling  through  to 
an  assured  peace.  That  many  a  leader  of  the  ex- 
treme left  never  in  his  heart  of  hearts  desired  a  com- 
plete German  victory  seems  to  have  remained  long 
hidden  from  the  chancellor's  perception.  At  any 
rate,  he  did  nothing  to  combat  their  efforts  to  under- 
mine the  confidence  of  the  masses  in  the  German 
cause. 

General  Ludendorff  complains  bitterly  in  his  war 
memoirs  that  the  Government  at  home  did  scarcely 
anything  to  keep  alive  the  "will  to  victory"  in  the 
German  people,  or  to  combat  energetically  the  ten- 
dency to  defaitisme.  I,  too,  could  not  resist  the  im- 
pression that,  during  the  war,  the  proper  authori- 
ties permitted  these  tendenices  to  grow  without 
adopting  any  energetic  counter  measures.  Defait- 
isme,  which,  regardless  of  every  other  consideration, 
was  rigorously  crushed  in  France,  England  and  Amer- 
ica, as  a  principle  adverse  to  the  necessities  of  the 
hour  and  opposed  to  the  interests  of  the  State,  was 
allowed  to  run  riot  with  us.  Our  Government  was 
powerless  to  cope  with  it,  yet  believed  itself  able  to 
silence  and  neutralize  anti-national  conduct  by  weak 
indulgence.  Nervelessly  they  let  things  take  their 
course,  seemingly  disinclined  to  picture  to  themselves 
the  fatal  end  to  which,  sooner  or  later,  it  all  must 
lead. 

Wherever  difficulties  and  impediments  arose,  re- 


182    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

course  was  had  to  small  remedies,  to  half-measures, 
to  extravagant  concessions  flung  down  with  both 
hands  or  to  compliance  that  was  hesitating  and  be- 
lated. They  made  shift  with  patchwork  until  no  more 
patching  was  possible  and  everything  fell  to  pieces. 
Civil  dictators,  conscious  of  their  road  and  with 
eyes  fixed  on  victory,  like  Clemenceau  and  Lloyd 
George,  were  utterly  lacking  with  us.  The  longer 
the  war  lasted,  the  more  autocratic  and  severe  be- 
came the  governments  of  the  hostile  countries  and 
the  more  vacillating  and  yielding  our  own. — ^The 
munition  workers  at  home  were  given  fabulous  wages 
to  keep  them  in  a  good  temper.  The  only  effect  was 
that  their  cupidity  was  enhanced,  a  higher  premium 
put  upon  shirking,  the  soldier  at  the  front  irritated 
and  deprived  of  his  willingness  to  fight.  Why  was 
not  every  calling  of  importance  to  the  war  made 
compulsory?  Why  were  not  those  levied  for  work 
at  home  placed  in  the  same  category  as  to  wages  and 
rations  as  those  under  the  colors?  People  talk  ad 
nauseum  of  the  dutiful  home  warriors !  "War"  em- 
ployer and  "war"  employee  ought  both  to  have  been 
compassed  by  the  organization  of  "war"  industry. 

For  the  organization  of  industry  at  home,  the 
Auxiliary  Service  Act  (Hilfsdienstgesetz)  was  ulti- 
mately adopted.  But  it  was  due  to  the  initiative  of 
the  Higher  Command,  whose  business  it  was  not; 
and  when  it  came,  what  a  maimed  creature  it  was ! 

Irresolute  and  somewhat  unfortunate  was  like- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  183 

wise  the  attitude  of  the  Government  towards  the 
problem  of  the  Prussian  suffrage  question  during  the 
war.  The  social  democrats,  making  a  slogan  of  the 
idea,  conducted  vigorous  propaganda  and — ^while  our 
armies  were  engaged  in  the  severest  struggles  and 
their  welfare  depended  upon  the  smooth  working  of 
the  industrial  mechanism  at  home — even  did  not 
hesitate  to  throw  out  threats  of  a  strike. 

Two  courses  were  open  to  the  Government.  One 
was  to  say  that  wartime  was  unsuitable  for  deal- 
ing with  changes  of  the  constitution,  especially  as 
the  best  part  of  the  people  were  then  under  arms 
at  the  front  and  consequently  unable  to  co-operate 
in  the  reorganization;  but  then  it  would  have 
had  to  pull  itself  together  and  ruthlessly  repress 
every  agitation  aimed  in  a  different  direction.  The 
other  course  was  for  the  Government  to  decide 
upon  a  revision  of  the  Suffrage  Act,  but  in  that  case 
it  ought  not  to  have  hesitated  to  arrange  for  a  speedy 
dissolution  of  the  House  of  Deputies,  and  should  have 
resorted  to  every  possible  means  to  carry  out  its 
purpose. 

The  Government  once  more  adopted  the  fatal 
method  of  half-measures. 

When  His  Excellency,  von  Valentini,  the  chef  du 
cabinet  civil,  brought  me  the  so-called  **  Easter  mes- 
sage" in  1917,  I  expressed  to  him  my  astonishment 
at  this  patchwork,  and  pointed  out  to  him  that  such 
a  decree  would  satisfy  nobody,  that,  in  a  short  time, 


184    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  Government  would  be  forced  to  grant  direct 
suffrage,  and  it  would  be  better  to  do  it  straight- 
away as  a  spontaneous  act  of  His  Majesty.  Val- 
entini  replied:  "The  direct  secret  ballot  is  out  of 
the  question;  what  is  proposed  is  a  plurality  vote 
similar  to  the  Belgian  arrangement."  Count  von 
der  Schulenburg,  chief  of  the  General  Staff  of  my 
army,  was  present  at  this  conversation. 

August,  1920. 

Since  I  last  had  these  sheets  in  my  hand,  our 
parents  and  we  children  have  suffered  a  heavy  blow: 
my  brother  Joachim,  utterly  broken  down,  has 
passed  out  of  this  life.  Immediately  on  receipt  of 
the  news,  I  travelled  to  Doom,  in  order  to  be  with 
my  mother  in,  at  any  rate,  the  first  and  severest 
hours  of  her  sorrow.  What  a  deal  of  suffering  des- 
tiny has  heaped  upon  this  poor  and  sick  maternal 
heart. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  month,  my  brother  Oscar, 
who  had  arrived  at  Doom  just  after  me,  came  to 
see  me  here  on  the  island.  Eitel  Friedrich  was  also 
here;  and  so,  little  by  little,  they  are  all  making  ac- 
quaintance with  the  small  plot  of  earth  on  which  I 
have  lived  for  over  20  months.  I  can  imagine  that, 
when  they  happen  to  have  good  weather  here  for 
their  short  stay,  the  place  will  not  seem  so  very 
dreadful  to  them.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to 
receive  a  visit  from  my  old  and  tmsted  Maltzahn, 


STRESS  AND  STORM  185 

who,  when  he  came  to  see  us  at  the  front,  shared 
with  me  many  an  anxiety  concerning  our  internal 
situation.  At  the  end  of  the  month,  my  wife  is  to 
come  here  again — this  time  with  all  four  boys. 

In  these  personal  recollections  of  mine,  I  feel  im- 
pelled to  say  a  few  words  about  the  two  men  whose 
names  personify,  for  the  whole  German  people,  their 
idea  of  military  leadership,  namely  Field-Marshal 
von  Hindenburg  and  his  first  quartermaster-gen- 
eral, General  Ludendorff. 

It  is  superfluous  to  say  much  here  of  what  our 
country  owes  to  these  two  men.  Suffice  it  to  call 
to  mind  the  great  victories  at  Tannenberg  and  at 
the  Masurian  Lakes.  At  that  time,  the  names  of 
these  two  were  in  everybody's  mouth,  and  both  at 
home  and  at  the  front  arose  the  wish  that  the  lead- 
ership of  the  entire  German  army  might  be  placed 
in  their  hands.  We  commanders-in-chief  shared 
fully  this  general  desire  to  see  Hindenburg  and 
Ludendorff  in  the  most  responsible  positions,  and 
we  received,  with  joy  and  hope,  the  ultimate  de- 
cision of  His  Majesty  to  place  them  there.  Never 
have  I  seen  any  other  two  men  of  such  different 
character  complement  one  another  to  form  a  single 
entity  as  did  these  two.  In  all  questions  that  arose 
during  their  period  of  co-operation,  the  weal  of  the 
Fatherland  and  the  happiness  and  honor  of  the 
army  were,  for  them,  the  common  basis  for  their 
deliberations,  their  plans  and  their  resolutions. 


186    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

If  I  were  to  characterize  the  field-marshal  general 
as  he  appeared  to  me  in  the  years  of  his  zenith, 
I  would  say  that  the  greatest  impression  was  made 
by  the  simple  energy  and  composure  of  his  self- 
contained  personality.  It  was  a  composure  that 
communicated  itself  to  every  one  who  came  into 
contact  with  him,  convinced  every  one  that  the  fate 
of  the  armies  was  well  cared  for  in  that  calm,  firm 
hand,  watched  over  by  those  earnest  and  yet  ever- 
friendly  eyes.  If  he  spoke,  the  effect  was  height- 
ened: one  was  then  impressed  not  merely  by  the 
statuesqueness  of  his  tall,  broad-shouldered  figure, 
but  by  the  depth  and  timbre  of  his  voice  and  the 
fluency  of  his  measured,  thoughtful  and  deliberate 
speech;  the  conviction  was  confirmed  that  the 
speaker  was  absolute  master  of  the  situation  and 
expressed  views  that  could  be  thoroughly  relied  on. 

This  feeling  was  not  confined  to  the  individual  ad- 
dressed, it  extended  to  the  masses  when  the  field- 
marshal  general  appeared  before  them.  Further- 
more, a  scarcely  definable  peculiarity  of  manner 
seemed  to  efface  the  dividing-line  between  his  pro- 
fessional and  his  human  interest  in  people,  problems 
and  things. 

The  great  and  emancipating  victories  in  the  East 
were  soon  invested  with  almost  mythical  features; 
with  these  as  a  background,  Hindenburg's  personal- 
ity became,  for  people  and  army,  a  symbol  of  German 
victory  and  of  rescue  from  the  exigencies  of  war. 


STRESS  AND  STORM  187 

That  unrevealed  something,  which  largely  has  its 
roots  in  the  judgment  of  the  heart  and  the  feeling, 
which  creates  the  hero  for  the  multitude  and  which 
never  appeared  in  such  men  as  Falkenhayn  or  Lu- 
dendorff,  soon  fashioned  a  halo  about  Hindenburg 
and  made  him  the  ideal  leader  in  the  eyes  of  the  Ger- 
mans. At  home  and  at  the  front,  I  have  heard  this 
confidence,  so  touching  in  its  primitive  simplicity, 
expressed  over  and  over  again  in  the  words:  **Our 
old  Hindenburg'U  manage  it";  the  utterance  was, 
as  it  were,  a  refuge  from  the  pressure  of  the  time, 
and  remained  so  later,  when,  for  us  leaders,  who  had 
long  since  been  stripped  of  our  optimism  by  our 
knowledge  of  the  true  state  of  affairs,  the  only  reply 
possible  was  dead  silence. 

Even  more  now  than  during  the  war,  there  is  a 
very  wide-spread  belief  that,  as  field-marshal  gen- 
eral, Hindenburg  played  little  more  than  a  decora- 
tive part  beside  General  Ludendorff,  who  has  been 
regarded  as  the  real  spiritus  rector  of  the  Higher 
Command.  My  insight  into  the  admirable  rela- 
tions between  these  two  leaders  fully  justifies  me  in 
characterizing  such  a  view  as  mistaken;  in  no  case 
could  it  be  said  of  the  era  in  which  the  field-marshal 
general  was  in  unimpaired  enjoyment  of  his  physical 
strength  and  energy.  That  even  a  Hindenburg — 
who,  though  in  full  possession  of  his  mental  and 
bodily  vigor,  was  nearly  sixty-seven  years  old  when 
he  entered  the  campaign — could  not  help  feeling 


188    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  effects  of  his  increasing  age  after  three  or  four 
years  of  excessive  work,  worry  and  responsibility 
may  be  safely  asserted  without  fear  of  detracting 
in  any  way  from  the  imperishable  services  of  this 
venerable  commander  and  estimable  man.  As,  in 
the  course  of  time,  some  relief  became  necessary,  the 
indefatigable  energy  of  the  so  much  younger  friend 
and  close  collaborator  took  over  a  portion  of  the 
burden;  and  their  admirable  unity  remained  a  strong 
and  resolute  will  without  any  bargaining  about  the 
intellectual  share  of  each.  How  much  aid  Hinden- 
burg  received  from  his  comrade  became  bitterly 
evident  when  the  unity  was  broken  by  the  retire- 
ment of  Ludendorff,  and  his  place  was  filled  by  one 
whose  inadequacy  despaired  all  too  soon  at  the 
thought  of  keeping  the  leaky  ship  above  water  and 
bringing  it  safely  to  port  through  all  storms  and 
with  its  old  flag  still  flying.  The  character  of  this 
new  man  was  such  that  he  struck  the  flag  with  an 
indifferent  shrug  just  as  coolly  as  he  flung  away  as 
empty  "ideas"  the  things  that  till  then  had  been 
sacred  to  the  German  people;  the  energies  of  the 
same  successor  exerted  in  a  different  direction  be- 
came the  strongest  shaping  forces  of  the  peculiar 
development  of  the  events  of  November  in  the  Great 
Headquarters  at  Spa. 

Owing  to  the  nature  of  my  tasks  and  duties,  I 
came  much  more  into  contact  with  General  Luden- 
dorff than  with  the  field-marshal  general.    I  can 


STRESS  AND  STORM  189 

conscientiously  say  that  I  always  felt  a  strong  sense 
of  being  in  the  presence  of  a  personality  of  steely 
energy  and  keenly  sharpened  intellect,  of  a  Prussian 
leader  of  the  traditional  glorious  type  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  term.  In  his  bright  office-room,  in  which 
were  focussed  the  rays  from  every  front  of  the  foe- 
girt  Fatherland,  I  have,  on  countless  occasions,  dis- 
cussed with  him  the  questions  and  problems  of  the 
war  and  especially  the  situation  of  my  own  troops. 
Whereas,  on  the  one  hand,  in  talks  with  the  field- 
marshal  general,  one  felt,  as  I  have  already  hinted, 
that  his  grave  and  easy  speech  was  the  outcome  of 
the  deepest  assurance,  on  the  other  hand,  one  seemed, 
in  conversation  with  General  Ludendorff,  to  be  in 
the  glittering  workshop  where  only  the  greatest 
mental  wrestling  succeeded  in  regaining  this  assur- 
ance from  day  to  day  by  an  unceasing  struggle  with 
untold  antagonisms,  hostile  principles,  obstacles, 
difficulties  and  shortcomings  of  every  kind. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  this  mass  of  af- 
fairs brought  before  him  for  settlement  tasks  and 
problems  which  did  not  properly  belong  within  the 
traditional  scope  of  his  post.  He  took  them  upon 
himself  because  their  solution  was  of  the  greatest 
significance  for  the  military  situation  and  because 
without  his  intervention  they  would  have  remained 
undealt  with.  Successful  and  deserving  of  thanks  as 
many  of  his  performances  in  these  domains  that  lay 
outside  his  own  proper  sphere  certainly  appear  to 


190    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

me,  still,  I  believe  I  may  say,  without  in  any  way 
giving  a  wrong  impression  of  his  strong  personality, 
that  his  essential  importance  and  greatness  lay  in 
the  provinces  of  strategy,  tactics  and  organization. 
In  these  fields  and  so  long  as  the  troops  and  material 
lay  intact  in  his  hands,  his  brilliant  mastery  of  the 
whole  theory  of  war,  his  wealth  of  ideas  and  mar- 
vellously exact  intellect  solved  with  astounding  cer- 
tainty military  problems  of  the  most  difficult  char- 
acter and  won  for  him  and  for  the  German  arms  im- 
perishable fame.  His  keen  and  complete  analysis 
of  a  situation,  his  unfailing  conversion  of  theory  into 
command  and  act,  his  accurate  knowledge  of  the 
value  of  the  forces  employed,  with  which  he  could 
reckon  as  though  they  were  invariable  mathematical 
quantities — all  these  things  contributed  to  win  for 
him  the  great  victories  at  Tannenberg,  Lodz  and 
the  Masurian  Lakes.  Afterwards,  when  he  had 
taken  over  the  gigantic  tasks  of  the  Higher  Com- 
mand, they  secured  him  successes  in  imperishable 
strategic  significance  during  the  struggle  for  the 
German  Line  down  to  the  spring  of  1918 — successes 
whose  lustre  is  perhaps  still  dimmed  by  the  lack  of 
ultimate  effect  and  the  shadow  of  the  miscarriage  in 
the  final  combat,  but  which  the  verdict  of  the  future 
will  unquestionably  range  with  the  greatest  military 
performances  of  all  time. 

His  great  and  bold  ideas  were  only  impaired  when 
the  units  which  he  fitted  into  his  structure  were  no 


STRESS  AND  STORM  191 

longer  capable  of  satisfying  the  demands  which,  ac- 
cording to  tradition,  he  believed  himself  justified  in 
making  upon  the  troops — when  the  normally  ac- 
cepted fighting  value  of  the  units  became  subject  to 
the  ups  and  downs,  produced  by  physical  and  psy- 
chical influence,  and  the  uncertainty  and  friability 
of  the  material  introduced  factors  which  caused  ir- 
remediable errors  in  the  calculations  of  the  machine. 
The  successful  designer  of  battles  and  calculator  of 
victories,  who,  ever  since  he  led  his  first  men  as  a 
little  lieutenant,  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  the 
concepts  of  discipline,  punctuality  and  fighting 
courage  as  things  of  iron-like  rigidity,  the  prac- 
tised strategist,  who,  ever  since  he  first  donned 
red-striped  trousers  as  a  young  officer  of  the  Gen- 
eral Staff,  had  combined  with  the  idea  of  a  battery 
or  a  division  definite  striking  values  and  calculable 
effects,  now  suddenly  saw  himself  compelled  to 
query  all  these  notions.  Enterprises  which,  assum- 
ing the  reliability  of  the  individual  factors,  bore  ev- 
ery promise  of  success,  broke  down  in  the  execution 
because  the  machine,  partly  overstrained  and  partly 
rusty,  failed  to  perform  its  task.  The  last  German 
attacks,  /.  e.,  from  March  21,  1918,  down  to  the  de- 
cisive turning-point  of  the  war — the  irruption  of  the 
enemy  at  the  Forest  of  Villers-Cotterets  on  July  18 
— were,  notwithstanding  some  brilliant  initial  suc- 
cesses, nothing  but  a  series  of  bitter  examples  of  this 
fact. 


192    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Both  as  a  man  and  as  a  soldier,  General  Luden- 
dorff  suffered  severely  under  these  conditions  and 
bore  them  with  a  heavy  heart.  Like,  doubtless, 
every  other  commander,  I  sympathized  with  him  in 
this  torture.  All  of  us,  who  had  passed  through  the 
iron  school  of  the  grand  old  army  and  had  breathed 
the  air  of  the  Military  Academy  in  Konigsplatz,  had 
been  equipped  in  that  famous  building  with  the 
firmest  confidence  in  the  unflinchingness  of  the 
great  army  which  was  the  embodiment  of  the 
strength  and  pride  of  the  German  people;  and  this 
palladium  we  now  saw  tottering. 

For  my  part,  I  had,  at  an  early  period,  been  un- 
able to  shut  my  eyes  to  these  cracks,  rents  and 
flaws;  and  I  dutifully  laid  my  observations  and 
suggestions  before  the  quartermaster-general.  Even 
yet,  when  I  recall  those  conversations,  I  am  filled 
with  gratitude  by  the  remembrance  of  the  friendli- 
ness and  attention  with  which  General  Ludendorff 
listened  to  the  views  and  wishes  of  one  so  much 
younger  than  himself,  and  did  all  he  could  to  meet 
the  demands  which  he  recognized  as  justified. 

It  is  true  that,  especially  in  the  later  period  of  our 
increasing  exhaustion  of  man-power,  food-stuffs  and 
war  material,  he  was  only  too  often  obliged,  with  a 
resigned  ultra  posse,  to  decline  what  he  would  cer- 
tainly have  gladly  conceded  had  he  been  able.  As 
I  learned  to  know  him  in  years  of  mutual  labor  for 
the  same  end,  General  Ludendorff  was  never  a  daz- 


STRESS  AND  STORM  193 

zler  or  a  thruster.  To  his  upright  and  stem  sol- 
dierly character  it  would  be  as  alien  to  seek  the  favor 
of  individuals  or  to  fear  their  disfavor  as  it  would  be 
to  court  the  approval  or  dread  the  disapproval  of 
the  masses.  For  his  decisions  he  knew  only  one  cri- 
terion; that  was  their  practical  fitness  for  the  attain- 
ment of  his  great  aim;  and  that  one  aim  was  to  carry 
the  Central  Powers,  and  especially  Germany,  out 
of  the  war  into  a  firm  peace  which  would  leave  us 
room  and  light  for  our  further  natural  development. 
With  absolutely  passionate  devotion  and  creative 
energy,  he  threw  the  whole  of  his  abundant  per- 
sonality into  the  accomplishment  of  his  military 
tasks,  never  seeing  in  this  immense  self-sacrifice 
anything  more  than  the  fulfilment  of  the  obvious 
duty  owed  to  the  Fatherland  by  every  German, 
whether  civilian  or  soldier.  This  admirable  and 
robust  conception  of  duty  and  of  faithful  perse- 
verance, coupled  with  a  high  estimate  of  the  inher- 
ent moral  worth  of  the  German  at  the  front  and 
the  German  at  home,  inclined  him,  particularly  in 
the  last  periods  of  the  war,  to  assume  and  presuppose 
such  vigor  and  virtue  as  a  reliable  basis  for  military 
operations  and  for  demands  upon  the  homeland, 
even  when  privations  and  disappointments  as  well 
as  disintegrating  influences  and  anti-moral  forces 
had  already  enfeebled  and  corroded  the  original 
soundness.  Filled  by  the  strongest  sense  of  na- 
tional honor,  he  found  it  bitter  to  have  to  believe 


194    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

in  the  decay  of  this  vigorous  moral  stamina  of  the 
German  people,  when  no  eye  could  any  longer  re- 
main closed  to  the  painful  fact.  For  a  long  time  he 
refused  to  recognize  the  reality  of  the  situation,  and 
wrestled  to  preserve  within  himself  the  proud  image 
of  the  German  immutably  true  to  Kaiser  and  empire. 
This  high  estimation  of  the  masses  caused  him  for  a 
long  time  to  regard  the  disintegrating  forces  as 
merely  pernicious,  exceptional  phenomena;  it  was 
also,  perhaps,  the  ultimate  reason  of  his  attention 
being  turned  so  late  to  the  agitators  and  their  vic- 
tims— too  late,  indeed,  for  any  energetic  action  to 
be  taken.  In  regard  to  the  moral  fighting  value  and 
physical  capacity  of  the  troops,  which  constituted 
the  most  important  factors  in  calculating  the 
chances  of  an  early  and  fortunate  conclusion  of  the 
war,  our  views  differed  more  and  more  as  time  went 
on  and  the  gap  became  very  wide  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  war.  Nor  would  I  conceal  my  opinion  that, 
in  the  choice  of  his  immediate  co-operators.  General 
Ludendorff  was  not  always  happy,  nor  always  open 
to  representations  as  to  the  incompetency  of  such 
individuals  or  willing  to  consider  statements  which 
ran  counter  to  their  reports.  Severe  views  of  fidel- 
ity towards  painstaking  subordinates  who  gave  him 
the  best  assistance  of  which  they  were  capable  in- 
duced him  to  leave  posts  inadequately  filled  for  a 
longer  time  than  was  consistent  with  the  best  in- 
terests of  public  affairs. 


I 


STRESS  AND  STORM  195 

While  anything  but  an  uncritical  upholder  of 
General  Ludendorff' s  views  or  a  mute  admirer  of  all 
his  acts,  I  nevertheless  account  him  to  be  a  surpass- 
ingly great  German  commander,  characterized  by 
the  strongest  patriotic  energy  and  faithfulness — a 
man  who  stood  at  the  head  of  the  German  army  like 
a  symbol  of  its  traditions  and  of  its  conscience. 
For  his  enemies  to  feature  him  as  a  "gambler"  and 
"  hasardeur"  is  to  circulate  an  untruth.  Would  to 
God  we  had  had,  among  the  political  leaders  of  the 
realm,  experts  of  equal  capacity,  of  equally  thorough 
deliberation  and  equally  conscientious  daring;  would 
to  God  it  had  remained  possible  for  each  and  every 
individual  to  turn  to  good  account  all  his  energies 
in  the  sphere  of  his  own  most  special  calling. 

In  the  chapter  on  Rome  in  Count  York  von 
Wartenburg's  "  Weltgeschichte  in  Umrissen,"  which 
I  have  recently  been  reading,  I  came  across  a  pas- 
sage the  other  day  concerning  the  Battle  of  Cannae 
and  steadfastness  in  defeat  which  has  imprinted  it- 
self upon  my  memory  as  particularly  applicable  to 
our  own  times.  Referring  to  epochs  subsequent  to 
the  days  of  Rome,  York  speaks  of  the  disgraceful 
manner  in  which  the  Prussian  people  heaped  con- 
tempt and  contumely  upon  the  army  for  having  suf- 
fered defeat  at  Jena  when  **it  was  neither  the  only 
culprit  nor  even  the  principal  one . ' '  Farther  he  says : 
— "If  a  people  wishes  to  survive  victoriously  a 
Cannae,  it  must  never  lose  completely  its  regard  for 
its  leaders  and  its  standard." 


196    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

From  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I  wish  for  the 
resurrection  and  the  new  greatness  of  our  German 
Fatherland  and  its  people.  But  only  when  the 
vast  multitude,  now  blinded  by  the  ranting  agita- 
tion of  false  prophets,  has  recovered  its  vision  for 
past  greatness  will  it  be  able  to  understand  and 
appreciate  the  old  that  was  and  to  labor  indomi- 
tably for  the  new  that  is  some  day  to  be. 


CHAPTER  V 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR 

October,  1920. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  month  I  spent  a  few  days 
on  the  mainland.  I  had  to  visit  a  dentist  in  Over- 
veen  named  Schaefer.  I  could  never  have  believed 
it  possible  for  any  one  to  enjoy  so  much  the  modest 
little  pleasures  which  a  dentist  can  provide  with  all 
his  small  instruments  of  torture.  I  felt  thoroughly 
comfortable  as  I  leaned  back  in  his  swivel-chair — 
rather  different  sort  of  furniture  from  our  Wieringen 
appointments.  The  trip  was  the  first  interruption 
for  a  long  time  to  the  persistent  quiet  and  solitude 
of  the  island;  and  just  at  present,  when  the  advance 
of  autumn  is  robbing  the  drab  landscape  of  its  last 
few  charms  and  the  equinoctial  gales  are  beginning 
to  rage,  it  helped  me  to  surmount  the  prospect  of 
another  long,  hard  and  sombre  winter  in  this  seclu- 
sion and  in  the  restricted  accommodation  of  this 
little  dwelling,  so  far  from  my  home  and  my  loved 
ones.  Moreover,  in  Schaefer's  delightful  little  villa 
near  Haarlem,  we  found  high-minded,  amiable  and 
well-educated  people  whose  hospitality  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  enjoy.    On  the  way  back,  we  called  at 

Burgomaster  Peereboom's  and  spent  an  hour  or  two 

197 


198    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

with  that  old  friend,  who  now  lives  at  Bergen,  his 
place  at  Wieringen  having  been  taken  by  the  equally 
excellent  and  ever-helpful  Mr.  Kolff.  This  new 
Burgomaster  and  his  wife,  who  is  of  German  origin, 
do  everything  in  their  power  to  render  my  life  more 
bearable. 

Among  the  letters  from  home  which  awaited  me 
on  my  return,  was  one  from  a  war  comrade.  It 
spoke  of  a  hundred  matters  and  touched  upon  the 
silly  twaddle  that  is  circulating  among  those  who 
know  more  than  anybody  else  in  the  world  about 
my  activities  as  commander  of  the  Fifth  Army.  So, 
then,  I  am  said  to  be  answerable  for  the  disastrous 
retreat  ordered  by  the  Higher  Command  after  the 
Battle  of  the  Mame  in  the  year  1914.  These  exces- 
sively clever  people  know  that  with  unerring  cer- 
tainty. Perhaps,  therefore,  it  will  not  be  altogether 
out  of  place  if  I  state  what  I  know  of  this  battle 
that  formed  the  turning-point  of  our  destiny — more 
particularly,  since  what  has  so  far  been  said  on  the 
subject  by  serious  and  critical  observers  tells  very 
little  concerning  the  events  of  the  Fifth,  Sixth  and 
Seventh  Armies. 

What  I  intend  to  write  here  is  not  a  description 
of  the  military  developments  and  the  operations  of 
my  Fifth  Army  in  those  bitter  days ;  for  that  I  have 
made  other  arrangements;  I  propose  here  only  to 
sketch  in  broad  outline  the  circumstances  which,  at 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  199 

that  time,  led  the  German  army  to  desist  from  its 
victorious  advance  and  to  start  a  tragic  retreat. 
The  blame  mine?  Only  mean  malice  could  invent 
such  an  idea,  only  unbounded  stupidity  could  be- 
lieve it ! 

As  commander-in-chief  of  the  Fifth  Army,  I  led 
the  advance  of  my  army  in  August,  1914 ;  I  saw  the 
decisions  and  notices  that  were  issued  and  was 
present  at  the  scanty  discussions  with  the  General 
Higher  Command  and  with  the  adjacent  armies; 
finally,  I  had  the  best  of  opportunities  to  watch  and 
study  hour  by  hour  the  development  of  affairs  dur- 
ing the  Battle  of  the  Mame.  My  impression  is  that 
it  was  an  unfortunate  combination  of  many  circum- 
stances that  led  to  this  pernicious  result.  Besides 
the  unquestionable  incompetence  and  the  consequent 
moral  and  physical  collapse  of  General  von  Moltke, 
there  was  the  unfortunate  and  rapidly  discouraged 
leadership  of  the  Second  Army  by  General  von 
Billow,  and  the  absolutely  disastrous  activity  of  an 
officer  of  the  Headquarters  Staff,  who,  oppressed  by 
a  sense  of  responsibility  and  personal  pessimism, 
assumed  a  verbal  order  given  to  meet  a  particular 
emergency,  as  conferring  full  powers  upon  him,  and 
so  occasioned  a  retreat  of  the  two  victorious  armies 
on  the  wings  before  a  decision  had  been  reached. 

Whenever  I  think  of  the  senseless  and  incompre- 
hensible flinging  away  of  the  successes  gained  at 
that  time,  whenever  all  the  horror  of  that  insensate 


200    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

folly  comes  before  me,  I  see  the  tragic  figure  of  a 
man  who  ought  to  have  led,  but  who  was  no  leader, 
and  who  broke  down  when  the  rising  pressure  of 
events  broke  down  the  traditional  scheme:  that  fig- 
ure is  the  figure  of  Lieutenant-General  von  Moltke. 
I  knew  the  general  well,  I  sincerely  revered  him  as  a 
man,  and  I  feel  deeply  the  tragedy  of  a  fate  which, 
in  its  purely  human  features,  seems  to  me  to  have  a 
certain  intrinsic  resemblance  to  the  fate  of  the  im- 
fortunate  Austrian,  Benedik.  General  Moltke  was 
a  thoroughly  high-minded  man  and  a  devoted  friend 
of  my  father's.  When,  on  the  urgent  recommenda- 
tion of  his  most  intimate  advisers,  the  Kaiser,  in 
1906,  called  him  to  the  chief  position  in  the  General 
Staff,  von  Moltke  earnestly  begged  His  Majesty  to 
excuse  him  as  he  did  not  feel  competent  to  fill  the 
post.  When,  however,  the  Kaiser  insisted  upon  his 
decision,  the  Prussian  officer  obeyed.  He  subse- 
quently endeavored,  with  inexhaustible  diligence, 
to  master  the  enormous  detail  of  the  work  of  the 
General  Staff.  There  was  something  shy  in  his 
character;  he  seemed  occasionally  to  have  but  little 
confidence  in  himself,  and  so  he  soon  became  totally 
dependent  upon  his  collaborators.  The  great  per- 
sonal amiability  and  ardent  human  cordiality  which 
he  possessed  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  gain  that 
authority  which  is  so  essential  to  the  chief  of  a  Gen- 
eral Staff.  During  my  service  with  that  staff,  it 
was  mentioned  to  me  as  typical  that  even  the  quar- 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  201 

termasters-general  used  to  report  to  the  old  and  in- 
exorable Schlieffen  with  a  certain  feeling  of  nervous- 
ness, whereas  everybody  liked  appearing  before 
General  von  Moltke. 

General  von  Moltke  was  never  a  robust  man. 
When  the  war  broke  out,  he  had  just  completed  two 
drastic  cures  at  Carlsbad.  He  entered  the  war  as  a 
sick  man.  The  direction  of  the  various  armies  by 
the  chief  of  the  general  staff  was  a  very  loose  one. 
His  headquarters  in  Luxembourg  were  much  too  far 
removed  from  the  scene  of  battle;  and,  at  such  a 
distance,  he  could  not  follow  events  with  the  neces- 
sary accuracy — could  not  supervise  them  with  the 
necessary  clearness;  possibly,  too,  the  eye  for  the 
essential  and  the  requisite  rapidity  of  resolve  failed 
him  at  the  crucial  moments  of  the  battle.  In  any 
case,  the  great  imperfections  of  communication  at 
that  time  gave  rise  to  difficulties,  so  that  there  was 
occasionally  a  complete  lack  of  connection  with  the 
advancing  army.  This  destroyed  the  unity  of  lead- 
ership; ultimately,  the  armies,  when  they  had  once 
started  their  advance  and  knew  their  road,  waged 
war  more  or  less  independently,  each  communicating 
with  its  neighbor  as  occasion  required.  Immediately 
after  the  Battle  of  Longwy,  I  was  called  to  the  Great 
Headquarters  in  Luxembourg.  I  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  talking  quite  unequivocally  with  Moltke's 
right-hand  man,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tappen,  con- 
cerning the  loose  control  of  the  armies  by  the  Higher 


202    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Command,  and  I  demanded  the  appointment  of  per- 
manent liaison  officers  between  the  General  Higher 
Command  and  the  Higher  Command  of  each  army. 
The  proposal  was  smilingly  shelved  with  the  remark 
that  no  change  was  necessary  as  everything  was 
working  excellently  as  it  was. 

When  the  situation  of  the  First  and  Second  Armies 
became  acute,  the  chief  of  the  general  staff  sent 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Hentsch  as  intelligence  officer  of 
the  General  Higher  Command  on  a  tour  of  inspection 
to  the  Higher  Command  in  each  army.  As  General 
von  Kuhl  once  told  me,  the  decision  as  to  the  course 
the  battle  was  to  take  was  laid  in  his  hands. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  tour,  Hentsch  appeared 
first  at  Varennes  in  the  Higher  Command  of  the 
Fifth  Army  on  the  afternoon  of  September  8.  He 
gave  us  a  sketch  of  the  entire  situation  as  far  as  it 
was  known  in  Luxembourg.  For  a  cool  and  impar- 
tial judge,  these  details  constituted  anything  but 
an  unsatisfactory  picture,  although  truly  it  was 
clear  that  the  hitherto  rapid  and  victorious  advance 
had  come  to  a  standstill.  On  leaving  us,  Hentsch 
proceeded  along  the  whole  front  to  obtain  a  per- 
sonal opinion  concerning  the  Fourth,  Third,  Second 
and  First  Armies.  Here  began  the  unfortunate  in- 
fluences at  which  I  have  already  hinted.  Quite  pos- 
sibly, Hentsch  really  did  receive  some  very  bad  im- 
pressions, especially  from  the  Higher  Command  of 
the  Second  Army;  maybe  his  nerves  gave  way;  at 
any  rate,  instead  of  encouraging  the  Higher  Com- 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  203 

mand  of  the  Second  Army  to  unflinching  resistance, 
he  agreed  to  their  retreating.  The  description  which 
he  gave  of  the  dissolution  of  the  Second  Army  and 
the  use  made  of  his  supposed  authority  to  order  the 
retreat  of  the  armies  ultimately  induced  the  First 
Army  to  fall  back  upon  Soissons,  though  it  did  so 
with  great  reluctance  and  only  because  it  had  itself 
lost  direct  touch  with  the  Second  Army. 

In  these  critical  days  of  Hentsch  activity,  my 
Higher  Command  attacked  without  success  along 
the  line  Vavincourt — Rembercourt — ^Beauzee  and 
St.  Andre,  and  prepared  a  night  attack  for  Septem- 
ber 10,  whose  object  was  to  procure  us  more  free- 
dom of  action,  since  we  were  closely  confined  be- 
tween Verdun  and  the  trackless  Argonne  region. 
The  General  Higher  Command,  which  had  mani- 
festly been  more  and  more  disquieted  by  Hentsch' s 
reports,  at  first  disapproved  of  this  plan  for  a  night 
attack,  in  which  the  Thirteenth  Army  Corps  (with 
the  Twelfth  Cavalry  Division)  and  the  Sixteenth 
Army  Corps  were  to  participate;  however,  after  re- 
peated representations  had  been  made,  permission 
was  finally  given. 

The  attempt  was  therefore  promptly  undertaken 
and  succeeded  brilliantly.  The  army  gained  the 
line  Louppy  le  Petit  to  the  east  of  the  Rembercourt 
heights,  and  the  northeast  of  Courcelles-Souilly; 
Sarrail's  army  giving  way  to  the  extent  of  about  20 
kilometres. 

On  this  10th  of  September,  Lieutenant-Colonel 


204    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Hentsch  returned  via  Varennes  from  his  tour. 
Since  he  had  first  visited  us,  his  view  of  the  general 
situation  had  become  pronouncedly  pessimistic.  He 
expressed  himself  hopeless  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
right  wing,  and  demanded  from  me  the  immediate 
withdrawal  of  the  Fifth  Army.  From  his  description, 
the  First  and  Second  Armies  were  now  only  fleeing 
remnants;  the  Third  Army  was  maintaining  itself 
with  difficulty;  the  Fourth  was  in  passable  order. 

I  told  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hentsch  that  an  im- 
mediate retreat  of  the  Fifth  Army  was  out  of  the 
question,  since  neither  the  general  situation  nor  the 
position  of  the  army  imperatively  called  for  it; 
further,  that  before  the  idea  could  be  even  enter- 
tained, the  removal  of  all  my  wounded  from  the  ter- 
ritory just  gained  would  have  to  be  assured.  As 
Hentsch,  despite  these  objections,  became  importu- 
nate, I  asked  him  for  his  written  authorization.  He 
could  produce  none;  and  I  thereupon  informed  him 
that  we  were  not  in  a  position  to  comply  with  his 
wishes. 

With  the  retreat  from  the  Mame,  Schlieffen's 
great  plan  was  frustrated.  It  was  based  on  the 
rapid  subjection  of  France.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  terrible  impression  made  upon  me  on  Septem- 
ber 11  by  the  sudden  appearance  in  my  Varennes 
and  Argonne  Headquarters  of  General  von  Moltke, 
accompanied  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Tappen.  The 
general  was  completely  broken  down,  and  was  liter- 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  205 

ally  struggling  to  repress  his  tears.  According  to  his 
impressions,  the  entire  German  army  had  been  de- 
feated and  was  being  rapidly  and  unceasingly  rolled 
back.  He  explained  that  he  did  not  yet  know  where 
this  retreat  could  be  brought  to  a  standstill.  How 
he  had  formed  such  a  senseless  conception  was  for 
us,  at  that  time,  beyond  comprehension. 

He  was  astonished  at  the  calm  and  confident  view 
of  the  situation  taken  by  the  Higher  Command  of 
the  Fifth  Army.  But  he  was  not  to  be  converted 
to  a  more  optimistic  opinion,  and  he  demanded — 
as  Hentsch  had  done  the  day  before — the  instant 
withdrawal  of  my  army.  As  no  imperative  reasons 
for  such  a  hasty  step  were  even  now  perceptible,  a 
lively  controversy  ensued  which  ended  in  my  de- 
claring that  so  long  as  I  was  commander-in-chief  of 
my  army,  I  bore  the  responsibility  for  that  army 
and  that  I  could  not  agree  to  an  immediate  with- 
drawal on  account  of  the  necessary  removal  and 
proper  transport  of  my  wounded.  With  tears  in 
his  eyes,  General  von  Moltke  left  us.  From  a  hu- 
man standpoint  I  felt  the  deepest  sympathy  with 
the  utterly  crushed  man,  but,  as  a  soldier  and  leader, 
I  was  unable  to  understand  such  a  physical  break- 
down. 

During  the  afternoon  of  September  11,  Colonel 
von  Dommes  brought  me  the  further  instructions  of 
the  General  Higher  Command.  My  army  was  to 
fall  back  to  the  district  east  of  St.  Menehould. 


206    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

The  colonel  suggested  retaining  the  southern  edge 
of  the  Forest  of  Argonne.  The  Higher  Command 
of  the  Fifth  Army  decided,  however,  to  go  as  far 
back  northward  as  the  line  Apremont — Bauluy — 
Montfaucon — Gercourt,  since  it  did  not  appear  ad- 
visable to  remain  ahead  of  the  army  (already  re- 
treating in  compliance  with  the  orders  of  the  Gen- 
eral Higher  Command),  especially  as  the  liberated 
enemy  forces  were  now  in  a  position  to  advance 
from  Verdun  in  any  desired  direction  and  thus 
threaten,  not  only  the  communications  of  the 
Fifth  Army,  but  also  those  of  the  entire  western 
army. 

Only  after  the  removal  of  all  its  wounded  did  the 
Fifth  Army  withdraw.  The  retreat  was  carried  out 
in  perfect  order  from  the  12th  to  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember and  the  new  positions  were  taken  up  with 
a  strong  sense  of  superiority.  There  was  no  moles- 
tation on  the  part  of  the  enemy;  Sarrail  did  not 
dare  to  attack  us;  and  if  he  had,  it  would  have  been 
a  bad  thing  for  him.  From  the  heights  just  to  the 
north  of  Varennes,  I  watched  the  rear  of  the  Thir- 
teenth and  Sixteenth  Corps  leave  their  trenches,  and 
I  can  assert  that,  save  for  some  cavalry  patrols,  no 
enemy  forces  followed  our  troops  anywhere. 

In  the  course  of  the  war  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
talking  over,  with  hundreds  of  officers  of  all  grades, 
and  with  hundreds  of  the  rank  and  file,  the  fatal 
incidents  of  the  First  Battle  of  the  Mame.    What  I 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  207 

heard  was  always  the  same:  we  had  completely  re- 
pulsed the  French  counter-attacks  and  had  success- 
fully reattacked  ourselves,  when  the  incomprehen- 
sible orders  to  retreat  arrived. 

My  brother  Eitel  Fritz  commanded  at  that  time 
the  First  Regiment  of  Guards.  Later  on,  he  de- 
scribed the  day  to  me  with  honest  wrath.  "We 
were  in  full  assault  upon  the  French  position,"  he 
said,  "after  having  repulsed  various  French  counter- 
attacks. Our  men  were,  it  is  true,  very  fatigued; 
but  they  advanced  courageously  and  determinedly. 
Everywhere  the  French  were  to  be  seen  in  full  flight. 
We  had  victory  in  our  hands,  when  suddenly  an 
orderly  officer  appeared  with  that  damned  order  to 
stop  the  attack  at  once  and  start  the  march  back." 
He  told  me  that  it  was  the  most  agonizing  experience 
of  his  life  to  have  to  go  back  with  his  brave  men  over 
the  road  that  they  had  won  with  such  severe  strug- 
gle, and  to  see  the  wounded  who  were  now  certain 
to  fall  into  captivity.  Our  famous  grenadiers  re- 
fused to  believe  it  all  and  kept  on  asking:  "Why 
must  we  fall  back?    We  have  beaten  the  French !" 

And  they  were  right.  The  German  army  was 
not  defeated  at  the  Mame;  it  was  withdrawn  by  its 
leaders.  The  battle  was  lost  because  the  Highest 
Command  gave  it  up  as  lost;  in  spite  of  the  numerical 
superiority  of  the  enemy — in  the  ratio  of  two  to 
one — that  Highest  Command  might  have  led  its 
armies  to  victory,  if  it  had  clearly  perceived  the 


208    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

situation  and  had  acted  adequately  and  resolutely. 

It  is  not  post  factum  wisdom,  but  the  expression 
of  a  view  borne  in  upon  me  at  the  time,  when  I  say 
that,  by  a  vigorous  condensation  of  our  right  wing 
for  united  action  and  by  strengthening  it  with  easily 
possible  reinforcements  from  the  left  wing,  a  dis- 
persal of  the  threatening  danger  might  have  been 
achieved  without  any  serious  difficulty. 

General  von  Moltke  I  saw  only  once  afterwards. 
It  was  in  the  headquarters  at  Charleville.  He  had 
already  been  removed  from  his  command;  I  found 
him  aged  by  years;  he  was  poring  over  the  maps  in 
a  little  room  of  the  prefecture — a  bent  and  broken 
man.  The  sight  was  most  touching;  words  seemed 
impossible  and  out  of  place;  a  pressure  of  the  hand 
said  all  that  I  could  say. 

I  was  told  later,  on  credible  authority,  that  the 
unfortunate  man  sank  into  a  morbid  search  after 
the  reasons  for  his  ill  fate,  that  he  tried  to  dis- 
cover exonerations  and  justifications  for  his  failure 
and  lost  himself  in  all  manner  of  unfruitful  mysti- 
cism. 

In  the  end  he  died  at  Berlin  of  a  broken  heart. 
With  him  passed  away  a  real  Prussian  officer  and  a 
high-minded  nobleman.  That  he  was  faced  with 
a  task  which  exceeded  his  capacity,  that,  with  a 
mistaken  sense  of  duty,  he  undertook  it  against  his 
will  and  conscious  of  his  own  inadequacy,  proved 
fatal  to  him  and  to  us. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  209 

End  of  October,  1920. 

In  this  second  half  of  this  month,  I  have  been 
over  to  the  mainland  again.  It  was  on  the  22d, 
the  anniversary  of  my  mother's  birthday. — They 
were  quiet,  sad  days  in  Doom;  for  it  cannot  escape 
the  eye  of  any  one  who  loves  her  that  my  mother's 
strength  is  waning,  that  sorrow  is  eating  her  up. 
The  wound  made  in  her  maternal  heart  by  the  death 
of  my  brother  Joachim  has  never  healed;  he  was  the 
weakest  of  us  boys  and  claimed  a  greater  share  of 
her  motherly  care. 

On  the  birthday  itself,  she  had  to  keep  her  bed. 
I  could  only  sit  beside  her,  hold  her  small  hand  in 
mine  and  talk  to  her.  I  told  her  a  number  of  amus- 
ing and  harmless  little  anecdotes  concerning  my 
island  household;  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  a 
faint  smile  light  up  her  kind  features  every  now  and 
then;  but  it  was  only  a  short  flicker  of  sunshine,  that 
was  gone  again  almost  instantly.  And  when  she  is 
up  and  walks  through  the  rooms  and  her  tired  eyes 
wander  caressingly  over  all  the  old  furniture  and 
mementos  of  her  Berlin  and  Potsdam  days,  it  is  as 
though  she  were  bidding  them  all  a  silent  farewell. 

My  uncle,  Prince  Henry,  was  also  at  Doom,  and 
came  over  to  Wieringen  for  a  day  on  his  way  back. 

Miildner  is  to  make  another  trip  home  in  Novem- 
ber to  hear  and  see  how  things  stand.  These  jour- 
neys of  his  make  me  feel  like  Father  Noah  **who 
sent  forth  a  dove  from  him,  to  see  if  the  waters 


210    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

were  abated  from  off  the  face  of  the  ground."    When    ! 
will  he  return  with  the  olive  branch? 

Our  old  friend,  the  ever  faithful  and  helpful  Jena, 
is  to  take  his  place  while  he  is  gone,  and  to  keep 
me  and  my  two  dogs  and  my  cat  company. 

A  few  weeks  ago,  I  endeavored,  in  these  sheets,  to 
refute  the  silly  twaddle  which  connects  my  name 
with  our  failure  at  the  Battle  of  the  Mame.  I 
should  like  now  to  dissipate  a  second  fable. 

Among  the  many  untruths  disseminated  about 
me  by  spite  or  stupidity,  is  the  assertion  that  I  am 
answerable  for  the  losses  at  Verdun  and  the  ultimate 
failure  there.  The  persistence  with  which  this 
legend  crops  up  again  and  again  makes  an  explana- 
tion of  the  facts  necessary. 

The  order  to  attack  Verdun  naturally  did  not 
proceed  from  me;  it  originated  in  a  decision  of  the 
General  Higher  Command.  The  intention  and  the 
G.  H.  C.'s  reasons  for  the  enterprise  find  expression 
in  a  report  to  the  Kaiser  by  General  von  Falken- 
hayn,  as  head  of  the  commander-in-chief's  General 
Staff,  at  Christmas,  1915.  This  report  contains  the 
following  passage: — ** Behind  the  French  section  of 
the  western  front,  there  are,  within  range,  objects 
for  whose  retention  the  French  are  compelled  to  risk 
their  last  man.  If  they  do  so,  the  French  forces, 
since  there  is  no  option,  will  be  bled  white,  whether 
we  reach  our  objective  or  not.     If  the  French  do 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  211 

not  risk  everything,  and  the  objective  falls  into  our 
hands,  the  moral  effects  upon  France  will  be  enor- 
mous. For  this  local  operation,  Germany  will  not 
be  forced  to  expose  seriously  her  other  fronts.  She 
can  confidently  face  the  divertive  attacks  to  be  ex- 
pected at  other  points,  nay,  she  may  hope  to  spare 
troops  enough  to  meet  them  with  counter-attacks." 
Soon  afterwards,  the  General  Higher  Command 
issued  orders  for  the  advance  on  Verdun.  The 
G.  H.  C.  was  unquestionably  influenced  by  our  nu- 
merical inferiority  and  the  wish  to  anticipate  an 
expected  attack  by  the  enemy  with  unenfeebled 
forces  at  some  spot  unsuitable  to  ourselves.  British 
organization  had  by  this  time  become  effective;  the 
French  had  been  relieved.  In  the  spring  of  1916, 
the  enemy  troops  in  the  west  outnumbered  our  own 
by  more  than  a  million;  according  to  General  von 
Falkenhayn's  own  figures,  the  Germans  totalled 
2,350,000  against  3,470,000  of  the  Entente,  and  we 
were  also  vastly  out-munitioned. 

In  judging  of  the  plan,  the  Higher  Command  of 
the  Fifth  Army  took  the  view  that  both  sides  of  the 
Meuse  must  be  attacked  simultaneously  and  with 
strong  forces.  Such  a  proceeding  was  vetoed  by 
the  General  Higher  Command.  The  attack  on  the 
east  bank  only  was  carried  out  under  the  direct  in- 
structions of  the  G.  H.  C;  and  it  would  probably 
have  succeeded  but  for  the  intervention  of  un- 
toward circumstances. 


212    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

The  preparations  for  the  attack  had  quite  escaped 
the  notice  of  the  French.  The  concentration  of  the 
artillery  had  not  been  interfered  with  in  any  way; 
the  attacking  infantry  had  suffered  scarcely  any 
losses  in  the  initial  assault.  Everything  had  been 
brilliantly  prepared.  Then,  on  the  eve  of  the  day 
originally  selected  for  the  attack,  storms  of  rain 
and  snow  set  in  which  prevented  every  possibility 
of  the  artillery  seeing  their  objective.  From  day 
to  day  the  attack  had  to  be  postponed,  so  that  it 
actually  took  place  10  days  later  than  originally 
arranged.  The  Higher  Command  of  the  Fifth 
Army  passed  an  agonizing  time;  for,  as  things 
stood,  every  hour  lost  meant  a  diminution  of  our 
prospects  of  speedy  success.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
in  that  period  of  waiting,  our  purpose  was  betrayed 
by  two  miserable  rascals  of  the  Landwehr  who  de- 
serted to  the  French. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  no  longer  possible  for  our 
enemies  to  carry  out  their  counter-measures  quickly 
enough.  The  attack  began  on  February  21,  1916; 
and  the  huge  successes  of  the  first  three  days  are 
well  known.  The  infantry  of  the  Third,  Eighteenth, 
and  Seventh  Reserve  Corps  performed  marvels  of 
courage.  The  taking  of  Fort  Douaumont  crowned 
everything.  Indeed,  we  should,  after  all,  have  suc- 
ceeded in  rushing  the  entire  east  front  of  Verdun, 
if  the  reserves  promised  us  had  arrived  on  time. 
Why  they  failed  to  do  so  is  not  within  my  knowl- 
edge. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  213 

I  was  told  by  Captain  von  Brandis,  who  stormed 
Fort  Douaumont,  that,  on  the  fourth  day,  he  had 
observed  a  complete  absence  of  Frenchmen  in  the 
whole  district  of  Douaumont — ^Sonville — ^Tavannes. 
But  our  own  troops  had  exhausted  their  strength; 
the  weather  was  horrible,  and  rations  could  not 
everywhere  be  brought  up  as  needed.  That  it 
would  have  been  quite  possible  to  take  the  entire 
east  front  of  Verdim  by  at  once  continuing  the 
attack  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  the  local  lead- 
ers of  the  French  had  already  ordered  the  evacua- 
tion. Only  later  was  this  order  countermanded  by 
General  Joffre.  But,  from  the  statements  and  de- 
scriptions which  I  have  recently  seen  in  a  report  by 
a  French  officer  who  fought  at  Verdun,  it  is  evident 
that,  on  the  third  day,  the  defense  of  the  east  front 
there  was  actually  broken.  Moreover,  the  great 
danger  of  the  position  for  the  French  on  February 
24  has  been  described  by  General  Mangin  in  the 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes. 

The  fatigue  of  our  troops  after  a  huge  military 
performance  and  the  lack  of  reserves  despoiled  us  of 
the  prize  of  victory.  I  bring  no  accusation;  I  merely 
record  the  fact. 

From  that  day  onward,  surprises  were  no  longer 
possible;  and  the  early,  impetuous  advances  by 
storm  gave  place  to  a  gigantic  wrestle  and  struggle 
for  every  foot  of  ground.  Within  a  few  weeks,  I 
perceived  clearly  that  it  would  not  be  feasible  to 


214    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

break  through  the  stubborn  defense,  and  that  our 
own  losses  would  ultimately  be  quite  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  gains.  Consequently,  I  soon  did  every- 
thing in  my  power  to  stop  the  attacks;  and  I  re- 
peatedly gave  expression  to  my  views  and  the  de- 
ductions to  be  drawn  from  them.  In  this  matter  I 
stood  somewhat  opposed  to  my  then  chief  of  staff, 
General  Schmidt  von  Knobelsdorf,  and  my  rep- 
resentations were  at  first  put  aside;  the  orders  ran 
"continue  to  attack."  That,  in  consideration  of  the 
high  moral  values  attaching  to  the  continuance  of 
the  enterprise,  a  contrary  opinion  would  have  had  to 
overcome  enormous  opposition,  and  that  the  G.  H. 
Command  was  bound  to  look  at  the  struggle  for 
Verdun  from  a  different  standpoint  than  that  of  the 
Higher  Command  of  the  Fifth  Army,  must  be  un- 
conditionally conceded.  Still,  even  looked  at  from 
that  superior  standpoint,  I  believe  my  suggestions 
to  have  been  correct. 

When,  later  on,  the  situation  became  so  acute 
that,  in  view  of  the  futility  of  the  sacrifices,  I  felt 
unable  to  sanction  the  continuation  of  the  attack, 
I  reported  personally  to  the  Kaiser  and  made  written 
representations  to  the  G.  H.  Command;  whereupon 
the  Kaiser  adopted  my  view  and  granted  the  de- 
sired cessation  of  the  attack.  After  the  resigna- 
tion, on  August  29,  of  General  Falkenhayn,  the  head 
of  the  commander-in-chief's  General  Staff  and  of 
the  Operation  Department,  the  orders  to  cease  at- 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  215 

tacking  were  issued  by  Field-Marshal  General  von 
Hindenburg  on  September  2,  1916,  together  with  in- 
structions to  convert  into  a  permanent  position  the 
lines  that  had  been  reached. 

Regrettable  as  the  final  result  may  be,  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that,  although  the  attack  on  Ver- 
dun cost  us  very  heavy  losses,  the  French  suffered 
even  more  than  we  did.  About  seventy-five  French 
divisions  were  battered  to  pieces  in  the  devil's  caul- 
dron of  Verdun.  Hence,  the  force  of  the  French 
shock  at  the  Somme  was  very  greatly  diminished  by 
Verdun;  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  the  effects 
of  the  Somme  advance  might  have  been  had  not  the 
Battle  of  Verdun  reduced  and  weakened  the  re- 
sources of  France  in  men  and  in  material. 

I  feel  that  I  cannot  close  my  remarks  concerning 
my  attitude  towards  the  struggle  for  Verdun  with- 
out a  reference  to  the  cowardly  and  slanderous  con- 
tumely cast  upon  me  during  the  past  two  years  by 
those  German  newspapers  which  prefer  to  make 
use  of  a  cheap  slogan  rather  than  allow  truth  to 
prevail. 

Just  during  the  last  few  days,  I  have  read  it  once 
more:  ''The  Crown  Prince,  the  laughing  murderer 
of  Verdun." 

Gall  and  wormwood  in  the  little  light  left  me  on 
this  island,  which,  for  three  hundred  out  of  the 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  of  the  year,  is 
wrapt  in  fog  and  storm. 


216    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

"The  laughing  murderer  of  Verdun!"  So  that's 
what  I  am,  is  it?  One  might  almost  come  to  be- 
lieve it  true,  after  hearing  the  calumny  so  often.  It 
cuts  me  to  the  quick,  because  it  concerns  what  I 
had  saved  as  my  last  imperishable  possession  out 
of  the  war  and  out  of  the  collapse.  It  touches  the 
unsoiled  reminiscences  of  my  relations  to  the  troops 
intrusted  to  me;  it  touches  the  conviction  that 
those  men  and  I  understood  and  trusted  each  other, 
that  we  had  a  right  to  believe  in  one  another,  be- 
cause each  had  given  his  best  and  done  his  best. 

What  was  to  be  told  of  Verdun  and  my  part  in 
the  contest  for  the  fortress  I  have  already  told.  It 
remains  for  me  to  say  something  about  my  relations 
to  the  troops  and  about  my  laughter. 

It  goes  rather  against  the  grain  to  say  much 
concerning  the  former  point.  I  will  only  mention 
that,  in  the  untold  fights  which  took  place,  I  had 
grown  as  fond  of  my  brave  and  sturdy  troops  as 
though  they  were  my  own  children;  and  I  did  every- 
thing in  my  power  to  ensure  them  recreation,  quiet, 
rations,  care  and  rewards  in  so  far  as  these  were  at 
all  possible  in  the  hard  circumstances  of  the  war. 
Whenever  feasible — ^that  is,  whenever  my  duties 
permitted  me  to  leave  the  Higher  Command  of  my 
group  for  any  length  of  time — I  joined  my  fighting 
troops  in  the  fire-zone  to  see  with  my  own  eyes  how 
things  stood;  and,  wherever  it  could  be  managed,  I 
personally  saw  that  something  was  done  to  relieve 
their  hardships. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  217 

In  the  Argonne  it  was  the  same  as  at  Verdun  or 
in  the  chalk-pits  of  Champagne;  and,  among  the 
many  hundreds  of  thousands  who  came  under  my 
command  in  the  course  of  the  terrible  war,  there 
can  be  very  few  indeed  who  did  not  see  me  in  their 
sector.  Therefore,  I  can  dispense  with  many  words, 
and  boldly  call  upon  all  my  brave  officers,  non- 
commissioned officers,  and  men  of  the  old  Fifth 
Army  and  my  Army  Group  to  testify  to  my  rela- 
tions with  them.  The  knowledge  that  they  repaid 
my  love  with  incomparable  soldierly  qualities, 
with  fidelity  and  with  courage,  that  they  were  per- 
sonally attached  to  me,  is  for  me  to-day  a  source  of 
happiness  that  has  remained  to  me  out  of  the  past, 
and  that  no  thoughtless  agitator  shall  destroy  with 
his  mendacious  attacks. 

"The  Crown  Prince,  the  laughing  murderer  of 
Verdun!"  So  then,  now  for  my  laughter!  Yea, 
truly,  I  was  wont  to  laugh  in  my  young  years.  I 
was  never  a  moper  or  a  stay-at-home.  I  was  fond 
of  laughter;  for  I  found  life  joyous  and  bountiful, 
and  laughter  was  for  me,  as  it  were,  an  expression 
of  gratitude  to  destiny  for  letting  me  rejoice  in  my 
strength  with  freshness,  health  and  faith. 

Even  in  the  war,  despite  all  its  bitter  trials,  I 
never  completely  lost  my  capacity  for  laughter. 
Every  one  who  went  through  it  like  a  man  must 
have  experienced,  in  just  the  most  terrible  periods, 
the  desire  to  be  rid  of  all  that  unheard-of  horror,  of 


218    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

all  that  death  and  destruction,  must  have  felt  an 
almost  greedy  impulse  towards  every  sensation  and 
every  assuring  expression  of  this  life  that  hangs 
between  the  present  and  the  undoubtedly  better 
hereafter.  Thus,  at  that  time  also,  I  made  no  his- 
trionic mask  of  my  face  for  the  benefit  of  the  re- 
cording public,  but  showed  myself  as  I  was. 

That,  even  at  the  time,  at  home  and  perhaps  be- 
hind the  lines,  my  laughter  aroused  censure  here 
and  there  I  know  perfectly  well.  "The  Crown 
Prince,"  people  said,  "always  looks  happy;  he  does 
not  take  things  very  seriously." 

Oh,  you  dear,  kind,  captious  critics,  what  did  you 
know  about  it?  If  I  had  troubled  half  as  much 
about  you  then  as  you  did  about  me,  my  laughter 
would  doubtless  have  vanished.  But  I  troubled 
myself  only  about  one  thing — about  the  men  in- 
trusted to  me,  the  men  who  were  bearing  the  brunt 
of  things.  And  if  those  old  warriors  of  mine,  who 
were  then  the  care  of  my  heart  and  whom  I  look 
back  to  still  in  love  and  comrade-like  attachment, 
if  they  had  objected  to  my  laughter,  then  I  would 
admit  you  people  to  be  right !  But  they  understood 
and  thanked  me.  For  their  sakes  I  really  did  laugh 
and  smile,  even  when  I  felt  in  anything  but  a  laugh- 
ing mood. 

Pictures  of  those  bitter  days  rise  before  me. 

I  recall  a  review  of  the  recruits.  Last  year's 
batch  of  young  fellows  have  just  completed  their 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  219 

training  and  are  to  leave  for  the  front.  Six  hun- 
dred dear,  bright  German  lads,  scarcely  out  of  their 
boyhood,  stand  there.  They  are  really  still  much 
too  young  for  the  difficult  task.  Their  bright 
eyes  are  turned  expectantly  and  feverishly  upon  me ; 
what  will  the  Crown  Prince  say  to  them?  I  feel  a 
lump  in  my  throat,  and  my  eyes  are  inclined  to  get 
dim;  for  I  had  seen  only  too  many  go  and  too  few 
return,  and  these  are  scarcely  more  than  children! 
Dare  I  let  these  lads  see  what  is  passing  within  me  ? 
No! — I  pull  myself  together  and  smile;  then  I  say 
to  them:  ** Comrades,  think  of  our  homeland;  it 
must  be ;  it  is  hard  for  me  to  let  you  go,  but  you  will 
accomplish  your  task.  Show  yourselves  worthy  of 
the  comrades  at  the  front.  God  bless  you!"  And 
they  cheer  and  start  confidently  on  their  way. 

A  big  battle  is  in  progress.  Serious  reports  are 
arriving  from  the  front;  the  enemy  have  penetrated 
into  our  lines  at  a  dangerous  spot.  I  am  sitting  in 
the  room  of  my  chief  of  staff  with  the  map  before 
me  and  the  telephone  at  my  side.  We  have  brought 
up  the  reserves ;  the  artillery  and  the  fliers  are  in  ac- 
tion; and  we  await  reports.  The  telephone  rings,  and 
I  snatch  up  the  receiver.  Report  from  Army  Higher 
Command:  "The  breach  has  widened,  but  we  hope 
to  halt  in  lines  A  to  B."  The  weightiest  cares  press 
upon  the  chief  of  staff  and  the  commander-in-chief. 
There  are  no  more  reserves  at  our  disposal;  the  last 
man  and  the  last  machine-gun  have  been  sent  in. 


220    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Now  the  soldiers  must  do  it  by  themselves.  Will  it 
succeed  ? 

I  walk  out  to  step  into  my  car  and  motor  to  the 
neighborhood  of  the  attack.  Hundreds  of  soldiers 
fill  the  road;  their  inquiring  eyes  are  bent  anxiously 
upon  me.  The  difficulties  of  the  situation  up  at  the 
front  have  got  about;  it  looks  very  much  like  a  dis- 
position to  panic  here.  I  get  up  and  call  out  to 
them: — "Boys,  there  is  heavy  fighting  going  on, 
but  we  shall  manage  it,  we  must  manage  it,  and  you 
must  help  me!"  I  smile  at  them.  They  doubt- 
less say  to  one  another:  "It's  a  tough  job,  and  it 
may  cost  us  a  lot.  But  he  trusts  to  us,  and  he 
keeps  a  good  heart  himself;  it'll  be  all  right." 

And,  in  place  of  the  ominous  silence  that  met  me 
when  I  came  out,  loud  cheers  of  encouragement 
follow  me  as  I  drive  off. 

Another  picture.  It  is  after  the  severe  struggle  on 
the  Chemin  des  Dames.  I  drive  to  a  regiment  that 
has  just  returned  from  the  fighting  to  recuperate  for 
a  few  days  on  the  Bove  Ridge.  The  men  have  quar- 
tered themselves  in  shell-holes  and  in  old  French 
dugouts.  I  talk  with  many  of  them;  they  are  ut- 
terly fatigued.  In  one  of  the  shell-holes  a  party 
of  corporals  are  playing  the  card-game  of  skat. 
I  sit  down  with  them  and  add  three  marks  to  the 
pool.  Their  tongues  are  loosed.  They  are  all 
thoroughbred  Berliners.  Most  of  them  know  me. 
At  first  they  grumble  at  the  length  of  the  war,  but 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  221 

they  add:  "Well,  we'll  set  the  kid  on  its  toddlers." 
Soon  I  have  to  leave  for  other  troops.  An  old  chap 
stands  up — a  man  of  quite  forty-five — and  holds 
out  his  homy  hand  to  me,  saying: — "You're  our 
ole  Willem,  and  we  shan't  forget  your  comin'  to 
see  us  'ere;  when  we  goes  back  to  the  front,  we'll 
think  o'  you,  and  you  shan't  'ave  no  cause  to  com- 
plain o'  us."  A  thunder  of  hurrahs  echoed  over  the 
blood-soaked  Chemin  des  Dames. 

So  much  for  my  laughter  then;  and  I  can  only 
confess:  I  can  laugh  still.  In  spite  of  all  the  blows 
of  fate,  in  spite  of  all  vexations,  reverses  and  lone- 
liness, I  still  often  feel  it  welling  up  in  me;  and  I 
thank  God  that  He  has  left  me  that !  I  felt  it  only 
yesterday  while  playing  with  the  fisher  children  over 
there  in  Den  Oever;  and  I  felt  it  the  other  day  while 
talking  with  the  smith's  man. 

December,  1920. 

Miildner  has  come  back. 

How  does  the  passage  about  Noah  run  in  the 
Bible?  "But  the  dove  found  no  rest  for  the  sole 
of  her  foot,  and  she  returned  unto  him  into  the 
ark,  for  the  waters  were  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth:  then  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  took  her, 
and  pulled  her  in  unto  him  into  the  ark. 

"And  he  stayed  yet  another  seven  days." 

So  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  take  one's  heart 
in  both  hands  and  to  enter  the  third  winter  on  the 
island. 


222    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

One  great  delight  I  have  had:  a  visit!  My  little 
sister  has  been  with  me  foi  a  few  days  on  her  way 
home  from  Doom.  Any  one  who  could  know  what 
we  have  been  to  one  another  from  childhood  (the 
"big  brother"  of  the  little  sister  and  vice  versa) 
would  understand  and  appreciate  how  much  this 
reunion  after  such  a  long  time  meant  to  us  two. 

Scarcely  was  the  little  Duchess  gone,  when  the 
storms  burst  across  the  sea — wild  and  ceaseless  by 
day  and  by  night.  They  almost  carried  away  the 
roof  of  the  parsonage  from  over  our  heads.  Winter 
has  rushed  upon  us  this  time  in  a  big  attack — with 
a  sudden  fall  of  the  temperature,  with  snow  blizzards 
and  hard  frosts  and  masses  of  ice  in  the  Zuyder  Zee. 
It  is  worse  than  even  the  first  bitter  winter  that  we 
spent  here  two  years  ago. 

A  biting  northeaster  and  driving  ice  in  the  sea 
make  communication  with  the  mainland  almost  im- 
possible. Added  to  this  is  a  breakdown  of  the  tele- 
phone, so  that  we  are  quite  cut  off  from  the  world. 

And  the  latest  news  from  the  sick-bed  of  my 
mother  was  so  very  grave  that  the  worst  is  to  be 
feared.  When  I  think  of  it,  there  comes  to  me  as 
it  were  a  prayer:  "Not  now — not  in  days  like  these." 

By  three  o'clock,  or,  at  the  latest,  by  four,  it  is 
night.  Then  I  seat  myself  beside  the  little  iron 
stove  with  the  paraffin  lamp  and  my  books  and 
papers  before  me. 

When  my  eyes  wander  over  the  book-shelves,  I 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  223 

think  to  myself:  "What  a  lot  you  have  read  and 
ploughed  through  in  the  past  two  years !  More  than 
in  all  the  thirty-six  that  preceded  them." 

During  the  war,  the  Higher  Command  of  my 
Fifth  Army  and  my  Army  Group  often  received 
visitors  from  the  homeland  and  from  neutral  coun- 
tries. Of  these  visits  I  propose  to  say  something 
here. 

The  German  federal  Princes  frequently  came  to 
see  their  troops,  and  I  was  able  thoroughly  to  dis- 
cuss, with  some  of  them,  the  whole  situation  and 
the  position  of  affairs  at  home;  often  enough  their 
warnings  were  directed  towards  trying  to  find  some 
possible  opportunity  for  an  arrangement  with  the 
enemy,  a  view  which  I  heartily  shared.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  German  federal  Princes  were  not 
oftener  heard  by  the  Imperial  Government;  many  of 
them  clearly  foresaw  the  catastrophe.  The  federal 
character  of  the  German  Realm  (so  carefully  guarded 
by  Bismarck)  was  only  too  often  relegated  to  the 
background  during  the  last  fifteen  years  of  the  em- 
pire by  reason  of  the  excessive  centralization  at 
Berlin.  People  overlooked  the  fact  that  it  was  just 
the  more  local  and  tribal  pride  of  the  different  states 
which  best  helped  to  cement  them  together  into  a 
realm. 

Of  the  prominent  personages  who  visited  me  from 
allied  and  from  friendly  states  I  should  like  to  men- 
tion Enver  Pasha,  Crown  Prince  Boris  of  Bulgaria, 


224    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Count  Tisza,  Kaiser  Karl  and  Sven  Hedin.  Count 
Ottokar  Czemin  was  with  me  twice.  We  had  some 
exhaustive  political  talks;  and  I  received  the  im- 
pression that  the  Count  was  a  high-minded,  upright 
and  clever  statesman  who  surveyed  the  actual  situa- 
tion clearly  and  wished  to  reckon  with  facts.  In 
the  summer  of  1917,  he  came  to  see  me  at  Charle- 
ville;  we  discussed  thoroughly  the  highly  critical 
condition  of  things,  and  he  was  of  the  opinion  that 
the  Dual  Monarchy  was  on  the  point  of  exhaustion, 
that  it  only  kept  itself  going  by  means  of  stimulants 
and  that  we,  also,  had  passed  the  zenith  of  our  mili- 
tary power.  He  foresaw  the  coming  collapse  and 
wished  to  prevent  it  by  comprehensive  and  tangible 
concessions  to  the  enemy.  A  peace  by  agreement 
on  the  basis  of  surrender  and  sacrifices  on  the  part 
of  the  Central  Powers  was  his  object;  and  his  re- 
marks disclose  a  certain  conviction  that  this  aim 
might  be  achieved  provided  the  necessary  steps  were 
taken.  We  ought  to  relinquish  Alsace-Lorraine  and 
to  find  compensation  in  the  east,  where  an  annexa- 
tion of  Poland  and  Galicia  to  Germany  should  be 
worked  for.  Austria,  on  her  part,  was  prepared, 
not  merely  to  relinquish  Galicia,  but  also  to  cede 
the  Trentino  to  Italy.  Knowing  only  too  well  the 
difficulties  of  our  position,  I  could  not  turn  a  deaf 
ear  to  his  suggestions;  but  I  pointed  out  to  him  that 
any  such  proposals  as  those  he  was  now  putting 
forward  were  bound  to  meet  with  strong  opposition 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  225 

in  Germany.  People  at  home  saw  our  victorious 
armies  standing  well  advanced  into  enemy  territory; 
the  majority  believed  thoroughly  in  our  chances  of 
success;  they  would  not  be  amenable  to  the  idea  of 
giving  up  old  Imperial  territory  just  to  get  peace, 
just  to  keep  the  defense  unbroken.  Notwithstand- 
ing my  recognition  of  these  difficulties  and  my  utter 
scepticism  concerning  the  Poland  compensation  idea, 
I  carefully  weighed  the  sacrifice  required  from  us  by 
Czemin's  scheme  against  the  incalculable  disaster 
into  which  I  believed  we  should  glide  if  the  war 
were  continued;  and  I  told  the  Count  that  I  would 
do  all  in  my  power  to  support  his  views,  especially 
with  the  leaders  of  the  army.  The  steps  thereupon 
taken  by  Count  Czemin  himself  failed.  The  Im- 
perial Government  seemed  to  consider  the  sacrifice 
expected  from  us  to  be  too  great.  Unless  I  am  mis- 
taken, Bethmann  HoUweg  appeared  particularly 
scared  by  the  problem:  "How  am  I  to  acquaint  the 
Reichstag  and  the  people  with  the  truth?"  Still 
less  receptive  to  the  Count's  proposals  was  the  Gen. 
Upper  Command;  as  General  Ludendorff  explained, 
they  regarded  it  as  incomprehensible,  with  the 
armies  unbeaten,  that  we  should  talk  of  giving  up 
ancient  German  temtory  which  had  been  so  long 
under  foreign  domination  and  had  been  regained 
with  German  blood.  I  give  due  honor  to  all  the 
arguments  put  forward  by  General  Ludendorff  in 
defense  of  his  standpoint:  they  are  to  be  found  in 


226    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

his  memoirs,  and  proceeded  from  the  optimistic 
heart  of  a  fine  soldier,  not  from  the  mind  of  a  cool 
and  judicial  statesman.  On  my  side,  I  endeavored 
to  see  the  problem  in  its  simplest  form,  namely: 
"Prestige  in  the  French  portions  of  Alsace  or  the 
existence  of  the  realm?"  Hence,  I  advocated  an 
attempt  on  the  lines  suggested  by  Czemin.  But 
my  sole  success  was  that  I  was  said  to  have  **got 
limp"  and  to  have  gone  over  to  the  political  "bears." 

Dutch,  Swedish,  Spanish  and,  at  the  outset, 
American  military  missions  were  frequently  our 
guests.  Among  them,  there  was  many  an  excellent 
and  sympathetic  officer. 

Several  times,  too,  German  parliamentarians  found 
their  way  to  me.  There  came,  for  instance,  von 
Heydebrand,  Oldenburg- Januschau,  Kampf,  Schulze- 
Bromberg,  Trimbom,  Fischbeck,  David,  Hermann 
Mliller.  With  the  Majority  Socialist,  David,  I  had 
a  long  and  interesting  talk  in  the  summer  of  1917. 
Although  our  views,  naturally,  were  anything  but 
identical,  we  found  many  points  of  agreement.  On 
my  inquiring  as  to  the  next  demands  on  his  party 
programme,  he  stressed  the  necessity  for  an  Act  to 
Aid  the  Unemployed.  In  reply  to  my  objection 
that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  determine,  in  every 
case,  whether  the  unemployment  were  really  un- 
deserved, he  assured  me  that  a  very  rigorous  check 
would  be  exercised  so  as  to  exclude  all  possibility 
of  abuse.    When  I  read  nowadays  of  the  enormous 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  227 

sums  expended  by  the  realm  and  by  the  munici- 
palities in  assisting  the  unemployed,  my  mind  occa- 
sionally reverts  to  that  talk  with  "Comrade"  David: 
have  David  and  the  other  fathers  of  the  Act  really 
succeeded  in  carrying  into  practice  their  theory  of 
a  check  to  exclude  all  abuse?  I  could  wish  it,  but 
I  am  inclined  to  doubt  it. 

After  David  had  left  me,  I  received  an  account  of 
a  little  incident  that  happened  to  him  during  his 
journey  through  the  war  zone,  an  incident  which 
reveals  him  as  a  very  admirable  man.  In  a  small 
place  were  posted  some  Landwehr  men  and  some 
columns  consisting  mostly  of  elder  men  who  had 
ceased  to  care  much  for  the  war.  They  recognized 
David  and  explained  to  him  that  they  wanted  to 
go  home — ^wanted  to  fight  no  more.  Thereupon, 
the  Social  Democrat  David  made  them  a  vigorous 
speech,  in  which  he  told  them  that  every  one  had 
to  do  his  duty,  that  striking  in  the  face  of  the  enemy 
was  quite  out  of  the  question.  The  speech  did  not 
miss  its  mark. 

In  July,  1918,  I  conversed  with  Herr  von  Heyde- 
brand  about  our  situation  and  our  war  aims;  and  I 
was  touched  by  the  optimism  with  which  he  regarded 
the  future  even  at  that  time.  He  was  quite  dis- 
mayed when  I  disclosed  to  him  the  naked  truth, 
when  I  told  him  that,  for  a  long  time,  we  had  been 
conducting  a  war  of  desperation  on  the  west  front, 
conducting  it  with  fatigued  and  exhausted  troops 


228    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

against  vastly  superior  forces.  On  my  giving  him 
accurate  figures  and  other  evidence  in  proof  of  my 
assertions  and  explaining  to  him  our  bitterly  griev- 
ous position  in  regard  to  reserves,  he  appeared 
scarcely  able  to  grasp  the  hard  actuality  unfolded 
before  his  eyes.  Afterwards  my  chief  of  staff  con- 
firmed for  him  what  I  had  said  and  furnished  him 
with  further  particulars. — Herr  von  Heydebrand  then 
told  me  that,  from  what  he  had  now  learned  he  must 
recognize  that,  hitherto,  he  had  cherished  a  totally 
false  view  of  our  situation;  he  and  his  party  had  been 
utterly  misinformed  in  Berlin. 

The  over-rosy  official  view  also  explains  the  other- 
wise inexplicable  and  frequently  exaggerated  aims 
of  the  pan-Germans  who  have  been  so  decried  on 
account  of  their  mistaken  demands.  Like  many 
others,  they  really  knew  nothing  of  the  actual  situa- 
tion. They  wanted  to  point  the  people  to  some 
tangible  war  aims.  France  was  fighting  for  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  England  for  the  domination  of  the  seas 
and  for  her  trade  monopoly,  Russia  for  Constanti- 
nople and  for  ice-free  access  to  the  ocean,  Italy  for 
the  "unredeemed  provinces."  What  was  Germany 
fighting  for  ?  To  this  the  pan-German  party  wished 
to  give  the  answer;  and  the  simple  truth  "for  her 
life,  for  her  unscathed  existence,  for  her  unob- 
structed development"  did  not  sound  strong  enough. 
And  yet  of  all  war  slogans  it  was  the  only  firm, 
strong  and  worthy  one. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  229 

Out  of  a  land  of  dreams  millions  of  Germans  were 
suddenly  dragged  into  pitiless  and  harsh  reality 
by  the  unfortunate  events  of  the  year  1918.  It 
affords  imperishable  testimony  to  the  fatal  effects 
of  artificially  cultivating  an  ill-founded  optimism, 
effects  especially  fatal  when,  in  war  time,  the  judg- 
ment on  the  general  situation  is  too  favorable.  Nay, 
I  maintain  that  the  collapse  of  Germany  would 
never  have  developed  into  such  a  terrible  catas- 
trophe, if  the  severe  reverses  at  the  front,  which  they 
considered  utterly  impossible,  had  not  torn  the  peo- 
ple out  of  all  the  illusions  anxiously  fostered  by  offi- 
cial personages.  They  had  universally  believed 
everything  to  be  highly  favorable  and  prosperous; 
and  now,  all  of  a  sudden,  they  had  to  see  that  they 
had  been  duped  by  misleading  propaganda.  So  ef- 
fectually had  this  thoughtless,  vague  optimism  been 
instilled  into  their  minds  that,  even  in  times  of  the 
greatest  excitement,  tired  people  took  refuge  in  it 
and  very  few  had  the  energy  or  self-reliant  cour- 
age to  picture  to  themselves  the  results  of  a  possible 
defeat.  And,  yet,  it  was  just  such  as  these  few 
who  drew  from  their  inner  conflicts  with  final  bitter 
possibilities  a  stronger  power  of  resistance,  since 
they  learned  thereby  that  every  supremest  effort 
was  essential  for  struggle  and  victory,  that  defeat 
meant  destruction. 

The  lack  of  uprightness  and  truthfulness  which 
arose  from  loose  thinking  and  which  had  become 


230    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

second  nature  to  many  gentlemen  in  responsible 
positions,  has  taken  a  bitter  revenge.  With  the 
opiate  of  eternal  reassurances  that  all  is  well  you 
cannot  stimulate  to  the  acme  of  effort  either  the 
individual  or  the  community.  A  much  stronger 
effect  is  obtained  by  honestly  pointing  out  that 
enormous  tasks  are  to  be  accomplished  in  a  life-and- 
death  struggle,  that  this  struggle  is  harder  than  any 
that  a  people  has  ever  passed  through,  and  that, 
unless  all  is  to  he  lost,  no  nerve  must  weaken,  no  soul 
become  lax,  in  the  ups  and  downs  of  this  vital  con- 
flict. Clear  knowledge  as  to  the  results  of  a  possi- 
ble defeat  ought  not  to  have  been  withheld  from  the 
people  at  home,  and  the  horror  of  the  strife  at  the 
front  ought  never  to  have  been  disguised  for  them 
by  a  false  mystification  when  failures  occurred. 

I  am  not  here  advocating  any  doleful  damping  of 
peoples'  spirits;  all  I  say  is,  that,  from  the  outset, 
the  German  people  ought  to  have  been  honored  by 
assuming  it  to  be  mature  enough  to  face  the  whole 
hard  truth  and  to  steel  its  heart  by  gazing  at  it. 

Hundreds  and  hundreds  of  times,  I  said  to  my 
troops:  ** Comrades,  things  are  going  hard  with  us. 
They  are  bitterly  difficult.  It  is  a  case  of  life  and 
death  for  you  and  for  all  that  we  Germans  have. 
Whether  we  shall  pull  through  I  do  not  know.  But 
I  have  every  faith  in  you  that  you  will  not  desert  one 
another  or  the  cause.    There  is  no  other  way  out  of 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  231 

it;  and  so,  forward,  for  God  and  with  God,  for  the 
Kaiser  and  the  realm !  for  all  that  you  love  and  re- 
fuse to  see  crushed."  Such  things  ^s  these  ought 
to  have  been  told  the  people  at  home  according  as 
the  situation  called  for  it. 

But  the  authorities  preferred  to  ration  the  truth. 
The  result  was  that  the  nation,  starving  for  news, 
snatched  greedily  for  rumors  and  tittle-tattle  as 
substitutes  for  what  was  kept  from  them;  while  dis- 
trust and  disintegrating  doubt  grew  apace.  These 
false  tactics  began  at  the  First  Battle  of  the  Mame; 
and  we  never  got  rid  of  them  till  the  collapse  came. 

The  German  press  is  not  to  be  blamed  for  the 
mistaken  views  of  its  readers;  the  evil  had  its  roots 
in  the  source  from  which  the  information  was  sup- 
plied to  the  press.  An  honest  desire  for  the  truth 
was  displayed  throughout  by  the  newspapers  of  all 
shades  of  opinion,  though  naturally  party  views  and 
personal  interests  played  their  part.  During  the  war, 
press  representatives  of  the  most  diverse  political 
opinions,  and  especially  war  correspondents  who 
were  my  guests  and  whom  I  met  over  and  over 
again  with  the  fighting  troops,  complained  to  me 
that  they  were  not  permitted  to  write  of  the  things 
as  they  saw  them,  that  they  might  only  give  their 
readers  an  inkling  of  the  truth,  but  not  tell  them 
the  full  seriousness  of  the  situation.  Very  bad  news 
it  was  thought  preferable  to  suppress  altogether. 
Especially  when  matters  were  critical  at  the  front. 


232    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  red  pencil  wallowed  in  the  despatches  and  re- 
ports; and  what  ultimately  remained  had  often  as- 
sumed quite  a  different  air  when  denuded  of  its 
context. 

The  censor's  office,  by  reason  of  its  effect  upon 
these  reports  of  immediate  eye-witnesses,  has  sinned 
very  grievously  against  the  country. 

New  Year's  Eve,  1920. 

Half  an  hour  ago,  we  rose  from  our  modest  cele- 
bration of  New  Year's  Eve — ^Miildner,  Zobeltitz  and 
myself. 

Thus  quite  a  little  party ! 

How  delighted  I  was  when,  as  soon  as  the  ice  per- 
mitted, Zobel  came  over. 

But,  after  all,  the  evening  has  been  a  quiet  and 
oppressive  one.  It  was  as  though  each  of  us  hung 
secretly  in  the  web  of  his  own  thoughts,  and  as 
if  each,  when  he  spoke,  was  anxiously  choosing  his 
words  lest  he  might  touch  some  old  wound  or  sore. 

It  was  fortunate  that  we  had  good  old  Zobel  with 
us  in  his  orange-colored  jersey.  His  melancholy 
humor  is  inexhaustible;  and  he  has  the  knack  of 
making  the  hardest  things  softer  and  more  bearable 
by  means  of  his  dry,  quiet  wise  fooling. 

What  a  lot  passes  through  one's  mind  in  such 
hours !  Past,  present,  future — like  the  medley  of  a 
cinema  picture,  one's  self  being  only  a  helpless 
spectator. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  233 

And  my  family — wife,  children,  parents,  brothers 
and  sister — somewhere  each  of  them  on  this  last 
night  of  the  old  year  has  been  thinking  of  me. 

Dear  comrades  of  the  field — ^living  and  dead! 
Friends,  even  though  the  end  was  so  different  from 
your  wishes,  the  sacrifices  you  made  for  our  poor 
country,  for  our  longings  and  for  our  hopes  will  not 
be  lost.  Your  deeds  remain  a  sacred  example  and 
the  best  seed  for  a  new  period  in  which  the  Germans 
shall  again  vigorously  believe  in  themselves  and  their 
mission — for  a  period  that  will  come,  that  must  come. 

And  all  the  other  faces  out  of  pre-war  years! 
But  all  that  seems  now  to  me  to  be  much  longer 
ago;  it  is  as  if  a  thin  film  of  dust  were  settling  upon 
it.  There  is  so  much  that  one  cannot  imagine  again 
as  it  used  to  be.  I  fancy  we  have  all  learned  a  great 
deal  by  bitter  experience.  And  yet  it  is  only  seven 
years  ago. 

How  fast  life  rushes  on ! 

And  in  another  seven  years? 

God  knows,  the  lot  of  us  Germans  is  miserable 
enough  now,  and  I,  personally,  cannot  exactly  com- 
plain of  any  preferential  treatment.  But  when  I 
look  forward  into  the  future,  I  seem  to  feel  that  we 
must  find  the  way  up  to  the  light  again  at  no  very 
distant  date. 

January,  1921. 

It  is  still  winter  weather;  but  it  is  almost  toler- 
able   again;    the    unbearably    depressing    isolation 


234    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

caused  by  the  floating  ice  has  been  broken;  the 
post  has  arrived,  and  we  are  once  again  a  part  of 
the  world. — Spring- tides  and  hurricanes  are  things 
which — considering  the  moods  of  the  cHmate  here — 
are  best  regarded  as  harmless  excesses  not  to  be 
noticed  overmuch. 

Almost  as  soon  as  we  were  "ice-free,"  Zobel  left, 
disguised  as  an  Arctic  explorer. 

I  myself  was  over  in  Doom  again  for  a  few  days 
to  make  up  for  not  being  there  at  Christmas. 

Now,  those  quiet  hours  with  my  mother  and  the 
long  talks  with  my  father  belong  to  the  past,  and 
only  the  great  winter  silence  lies  before  me. 

Those  talks  with  my  father!  There  is  hardly  a 
problem  of  our  past  which  did  not  crop  up  in  the 
course  of  them.  And,  whenever  I  am  with  him  and 
see  how  he  worries  himself  to  trace  the  road  of  our 
destiny,  when  I  recognize  that,  with  all  our  mis- 
fortune, he  sought  always  to  do  the  best  for  the 
realm  and  the  people  intrusted  to  him,  I  feel  the 
bitter  injustice  done  him  by  a  great  portion  of  our 
people  in  not  allowing  anything  that  he  accom- 
plished to  be  of  any  value,  in  burying  under  the 
ruins  of  an  unsuccessful  peace  policy  all  that  was 
great  and  good  and  imperishable  in  the  thirty  years 
of  my  father's  reign. 

I  believe  myself  to  be  fairly  free  from  blindness 
to  the  mistakes  of  the  throne  in  Germany  during  re- 
cent decades;  and  possibly  these  sheets  bear  testi- 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR  235 

mony,  here  and  there,  to  my  wish  to  see  clearly  and 
to  speak  frankly  of  what  I  see.  That,  in  my  opin- 
ion, much  that,  at  the  present  time,  is  generally  at- 
tributed to  the  Kaiser  should  rather  be  charged  to 
the  unhappy  influence  of  unsuitable  advisers  has 
been  stated  already.  With  all  that,  however,  these 
memoirs  would  give  a  one-sided  idea  of  my  views 
concerning  the  activities  of  my  father,  if  they  did 
not  expressly  record  my  full  recognition  of  the 
great  personal  share  taken  by  him  in  the  prosperous 
development  of  the  empire. 

His  services  to  the  empire  began  when  he  was 
still  a  prince.  In  the  years  following  the  war  of 
1870-71,  the  army  remained  stationary  for  a  long 
time.  The  officers  were,  in  part,  too  old,  but  people 
did  not  care  to  pension  off  men  who  had  done  such 
excellent  work  in  the  war,  and  a  very  cautious  at- 
titude was  adopted  towards  innovations  generally. 
The  well-tried  principles  on  which  the  war  with 
France  had  been  won  were  to  be  kept,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, intact.  It  was,  therefore,  greatly  to  his  credit 
that  the  young  Prince  William  recognized  the 
perils  inherent  in  this  stagnation.  He  used  the 
whole  force  of  his  personality  to  effect  an  up-to- 
date  reorganization  of  our  army  training,  an  effort 
which  cost  him  many  a  severe  conflict.  I  remem- 
ber that  my  father,  much  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  great  generals,  caused  the  heavy  artillery  of  the 
Fortress  of  Spandau  to  take  part  in  the  manoeuvres 


236    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

of  the  Potsdam  garrison,  a  thing  till  then  quite  un- 
known. In  further  production  of  this  idea  he  sub- 
sequently, as  Kaiser,  took  a  large  share  in  fostering 
the  growth  of  our  heavy  artillery.  The  develop- 
ment of  our  engineer  troops  is  also  largely  due  to 
his  personal  initiative.  He  also  devoted  himself 
energetically  to  the  cultivation  of  a  patriotic,  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  in  the  army,  and,  wherever  he  could, 
he  advocated  the  maintenance  of  traditions  and  of 
esprit  de  corps  of  the  various  troops. 

The  creation  of  our  navy  I  regard  as  solely  attribut- 
able to  my  father;  in  this  he  took  the  great  step 
into  the  world  which  was  essential  for  Germany  if 
she  were  to  become  a  world  power  and  not  remain 
merely  a  Continental  one.  But  we  owe  to  him  not 
only  our  navy;  he  likewise  took  an  active  share  in 
the  development  of  our  mercantile  fleet. 

In  the  sphere  of  labor  legislation  he  played  a 
leading  part;  and  there  is  a  touch  of  the  tragic  in 
the  fact  that  it  was  the  labor  party  who  finally 
brought  about  his  fall,  although  for  their  sake  he 
had  gone  through  the  first  great  conflicts  of  his  reign 
and  caused  the  Socialist  Act  to  be  quashed. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   GREAT  COLLAPSE 

For  the  great  Rheims  offensive  in  the  month  of 
July,  1918,  the  General  Higher  Command  had 
brought  together  all  our  disposable  forces,  reserving 
only  some  fresh  divisions  and  heavy  artillery  with 
the  Prince  Rupprecht  Army  Group  for  the  Hagen 
attack.  When  this  move  upon  Rheims  failed,  I  no 
longer  entertained  any  doubt  that  matters  at  the 
front  as  well  as  affairs  at  home  were  drifting  to- 
wards the  final  catastrophe — a  catastrophe  which 
was  inevitable  unless,  at  this  eleventh  hour,  great 
decisions  were  formed  and  energetically  carried  out. 
My  chief  of  staff,  Count  von  der  Schulenburg, 
fully  shared  my  views,  and  consequently,  after  the 
enemy's  great  offensive  of  Villers-Cotterets,  we  left 
no  means  untried  to  persuade  the  General  Higher 
Command  to  adopt  two  measures  above  all;  namely, 
the  placing  of  affairs  at  the  front  and  affairs  at  home 
on  a  sounder  basis. 

In  consideration  of  our  extremely  difficult  mili- 
tary situation,  we  regarded  it  as  requisite  that  the 
entire  front  should  be  immediately  withdrawn  to 
the   Antwerp-Meuse    position.    This    would    have 

brought  with  it  a  whole  series  of  advantages.    In 

237 


238    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  first  place  we  should  have  moved  far  enough 
from  the  enemy  to  give  our  severely  fatigued  and 
morally  depressed  troops  time  to  rest  and  recuper- 
ate. Moreover,  the  entire  front  would  have  been 
considerably  shortened;  and  the  naturally  strong 
formation  of  the  Meuse  front  in  the  Ardennes  would 
have  afforded  us,  even  with  relatively  weak  forces, 
a  strong  line  of  resistance.  In  this  way  a  saving  of 
reserves  could  be  effected.  The  weak  spots  of  the 
front  naturally  remained  the  right  wing  in  Belgium 
and  the  left  at  Verdun. 

Our  views  of  the  situation  were  laid  before  the 
Higher  Command  in  a  report  in  which  we  stated 
that  everything  now  depended  upon  withstanding 
the  attacks  of  the  enemy  until  the  wet  weather  set 
in,  which  would  be  about  the  end  of  November.  If 
we  had  not  the  forces  to  hold  the  long  front  line, 
we  ought  to  make  a  timely  withdrawal  to  a  shorter 
one.  It  was  immaterial  where  we  halted;  the  im- 
portant point  was  to  keep  our  army  unbeaten  and 
in  fighting  condition.  Our  left  wing  between  Sedan 
and  the  Vosges  could  not  retire  and  must  therefore 
be  strengthened  with  reserves. 

The  Higher  Command  replied  that  they  could, 
at  most,  decide  to  withdraw  to  the  starting-point 
of  the  spring  advance  of  1918.  They  adopted  the 
view — in  itself  perfectly  correct — that,  first,  a  further 
retirement  would  be  an  admission  of  our  weakness, 
which  would  lead  to  the  most  undesirable  political 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  239 

deductions  on  the  part  of  the  enemy;  secondly,  that 
our  railways  would  not  enable  us  to  evacuate  quickly 
the  extensive  war  zone  beyond  the  Antwerp-Meuse 
position,  so  that  immense  quantities  of  munitions 
and  stores  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy; 
thirdly,  that  the  Antwerp-Meuse  line  would  form 
an  unfavorable  permanent  position,  since  the  rail- 
ways, having  no  lateral  communications,  would 
render  cumbrous  and  slow  the  transport  of  troops 
behind  the  front  and  from  one  wing  to  another. 

We,  however,  were  of  opinion  that  a  retirement 
was  unavoidable  and  that  it  would  be  better  to 
withdraw  while  the  troops  were  capable  of  fighting 
than  to  wait  till  they  were  utterly  exhausted.  Poli- 
tics, we  thought,  ought  to  yield  to  the  military  neces- 
sity of  retaining  an  efficient  army.  The  loss  of 
material  and  the  unfavorable  railway  facilities  could 
not  be  helped;  we  should  have  to  fall  back;  and  it 
would  be  better  to  do  so  in  time. 

At  home  we  wanted  energetic,  inexorable  and 
thorough  leadership — dictatorship,  suppression  of  all 
revolutionary  attempts,  exemplary  punishment  of 
deserters  and  shirkers,  militarization  of  the  muni- 
tion works,  etc.,  expulsion  of  doubtful  foreigners  and 
so  on. 

But  our  proposals  and  warnings  had  no  effect;  we 
knew,  therefore,  what  was  coming. 

We  soon  saw  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  the  disin- 
tegration; we  had  to  watch  with  open  eyes  the  in- 


240    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

evitable  catastrophe  approaching  nearer  and  nearer, 
day  by  day,  ever  faster  and  ever  more  insatiable. 

When  I  look  back  and  compare  the  past,  that 
time  is  the  saddest  of  my  life — sadder  even  than  the 
critical  months  at  Verdun  or  the  deeply  painful 
days,  weeks  and  months  that  followed  the  catas- 
trophe. 

With  an  anxious  heart  I  entered  every  morning 
the  office  of  the  Army  Group;  I  was  always  prepared 
for  bad  news  and  received  it  only  too  often.  The 
drives  to  the  front,  which  had  previously  been  a 
pleasure  and  recreation  for  me,  were  now  filled  with 
bitterness.  The  staff  officers'  brows  were  furrowed 
with  care.  Wherever  I  went,  the  troops,  though 
still  unimpeachable  in  their  demeanor  —  willing, 
friendly  and  cheerful  in  their  salutes — were  worn  to 
death.  My  heart  turned  within  me  when  I  beheld 
their  hollow  cheeks,  their  lean  and  weary  figures, 
their  tattered  and  dirty  uniforms;  one  would  fain 
have  said:  "Go  home,  comrade,  have  a  good  long 
sleep,  have  a  good  hearty  meal — you've  done 
enough,"  when  these  brave  fellows  used  to  pull 
themselves  together  smartly  on  my  addressing  them 
or  shaking  hands  with  them.  And  the  pity  of  it 
all  was,  I  could  not  help  them;  these  tired  and  worn- 
out  men  were  the  last  remnants  of  our  strength, 
they  would  have  to  be  worked  remorselessly,  if  we 
were  to  avoid  a  catastrophe  and  obtain  a  peace  that 
was  at  all  tolerable  for  Germany. 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  241 

So,  from  day  to  day,  I  had  to  look  on  while  the 
old  virility  of  my  bravest  division  dwindled  away, 
while  vigor  and  conifidence  were  bled  whiter  and 
whiter  in  the  incessant  and  arduous  battles.  As 
things  stood,  no  rest  could  be  allowed  to  the  war- 
worn troops,  or  at  most  only  a  day  now  and  then. 
Instead  of  a  drastic  shortening  of  the  front,  we 
had  still  the  old  extent  to  cover  with  our  anaemic 
and  decimated  divisions.  It  soon  became  quite  im- 
possible to  do  so  at  all  adequately.  Clamors  for  re- 
lief and  rest  were  made  to  me,  which  I  found  myself 
unable  to  grant.  Reinforcements  stopped  almost 
completely;  and  the  few  little  groups  that  dribbled 
out  to  us  were  only  of  inferior  value.  They  consisted 
mostly  of  old  and  worn-out  soldiers  sent  back  to  the 
front  again;  often  they  were  gleaned  from  the  hos- 
pitals in  a  half-convalescent  condition;  often  they 
were  half-grown  lads  with  no  proper  training  and 
no  sort  of  discipline.  The  majority  of  them  were  of 
a  refractory  and  unruly  disposition — an  outcome  of 
the  agitators'  work  at  home  and  of  the  feebleness 
of  the  Government  who  did  nothing  to  counteract 
these  agitators  and  their  revolutionary  intrigues. 

That  the  source  of  disintegration  lay  at  home  and 
that  thence  there  flowed  to  the  front  an  ever-renewed 
and  poisonous  stream  of  agitatory,  mutinous  and 
rebellious  elements  no  unprejudiced  observer  could 
question.  This  conviction  is  not,  by  any  means, 
based  solely  upon  the  views  of  military  circles  at  the 


242    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

front;  during  my  journeys  on  furlough  and  otherwise, 
I  saw  for  myself  behind  the  lines  and  at  home  what 
was  going  on. 

From  these  personal  observations  I  became  con- 
vinced that  this  movement  had  its  source  in  the  in- 
adequate feeding  and  care  given  to  the  people  at 
home;  so  that,  especially  in  the  last  year  and  a 
half  of  the  war,  the  revolutionary  tendencies  grew 
so  rank  that  they  choked  every  better  disposition. 
And  I  put  the  blame  less  upon  the  people,  who 
hungered  and  pinched  at  home  for  their  Fatherland, 
than  upon  those  who  were  called  to  provide  for 
something  better,  to  see  that  things  were  more 
justly  distributed  and  with  an  energy  that  showed 
no  respect  of  persons.  Finally,  I  blame  those  men 
at  the  head  of  affairs  who,  when  they  saw  the  failure 
of  existing  forces,  omitted  to  create  a  post  and  ap- 
point an  official  who,  with  unlimited  powers  and 
freed  from  all  the  hindrances  and  encumbrances  of 
the  old  officialdom,  should  enforce  the  necessary 
measures  with  dictatorial  authority. 

That,  during  the  menacing  years  of  crisis,  we  did 
nothing  to  make  economic  provision  for  the  war,  and 
that  we  were  therefore  quite  unprepared  in  an  eco- 
nomic sense,  I  have  stated  above  in  discussing  the 
years  preceding  the  catastrophe  of  1914.  The  error 
of  that  period  was  immensely  magnified  during  the 
war  by  lack  of  foresight  and  by  clinging  to  a  system 
which   maintained   itself   by   one   makeshift   after 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  243 

another.  The  decisions  and  schemes  adopted  were 
not  precautionary;  they  came  merely  in  reply  to 
the  incessant  knocks  of  necessity.  A  characteristic 
example  is  the  mania  for  commandeering  that  took 
possession  of  the  State,  which  appeared  just  when 
there  was  scarcely  anything  left  to  seize  and  which 
was  doomed  to  failure  also  owing  to  a  wide-spread 
corruption  not  infrequently  winked  at  and  encour- 
aged. 

All  this  does  not,  by  any  means,  exonerate  the 
radicalism  of  the  left  or  its  filibustering  followers, 
whose  policy  was  to  draw  party  advantage  and  to 
profiteer  by  the  war,  from  an  inexpiable  share  of  re- 
sponsibility for  our  miserable  collapse  after  four 
years'  heroic  fighting.  It  only  admits  that  minds 
cannot  be  enmeshed  until  circumstances  have  crip- 
pled their  energy  and  rendered  them  open  to  the 
specious  arguments  of  the  agitator;  it  only  admits 
that  those  who  ought  to  have  nourished  the  people 
with  spiritual  and  bodily  food,  who  ought  to  have 
assured  its  will  to  victory  and  its  patriotic  spirit  in 
a  sound  body — that  these  very  men  unfortunately 
helped  to  pave  the  way  for  its  downfall. 

Even  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  year  1917, 
I  received,  from  conversations  with  many  simple 
people  in  Berlin,  the  impression  that  weariness  of  the 
war  was  already  very  great.  I  also  saw  a  great  and 
a  menacing  change  in  the  streets  of  Berlin.  Their 
characteristic  feature  had  gone:  the  contented  face 


244    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

of  the  middle-class  man  had  vanished;  the  honest, 
hard-working  bourgeoisie,  the  clerk  and  his  wife  and 
children,  slunk  through  the  streets,  hollow-eyed, 
lantern-jawed,  pale-faced  and  clad  in  threadbare 
clothing  that  had  become  much  too  wide  for  their 
shrunken  limbs.  Side  by  side  with  them  jostled 
the  puffed-up  profiteer  and  all  the  other  rogues  of 
like  kidney. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  these  contrasts 
aroused  dissatisfaction  and  bitterness  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  suffered,  and  whose  faith  in  the  justice 
and  fairness  of  the  authorities  was  severely  shaken. 
Nevertheless,  nothing  was  done  to  remove  the  evil; 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  saying,  whoever  wished  to 
profiteer  profiteered — ^profiteered  in  state  contracts, 
in  essential  victuals,  in  raw  materials,  in  party  gains 
for  the  benefit  of  the  "International." 

The  effects  of  all  this  were  severely  felt,  both  be- 
hind the  lines  and  at  the  front.  Every  bitter  letter 
from  home  carried  the  bacillus;  every  soldier  re- 
turning from  furlough  who  had  come  into  touch 
with  these  things  and  told  his  impressions  to  his 
overtaxed  comrades,  helped  to  spread  the  disease; 
and  it  was  aggravated  by  every  refractory  young 
rascal  who  had  grown  up  without  a  father's  care 
and  whom  the  home  authorities  shunted  to  the  front 
because  they  could  not  manage  him  themselves. 

The  sources  from  which  the  losses  of  the  troops 
were  made  good  were  the  deputy-general  commands 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  245 

at  home.  Their  enormous  significance  was  not 
sufficiently  recognized,  nor  their  value  properly  ap- 
preciated in  selecting  the  individuals  who  were  to  re- 
place the  commanding  generals  and  chiefs  of  staff. 
From  the  outset,  old  men  were  appointed — often 
worthy  and  deserving  soldiers  who  enthusiastically 
placed  their  services  at  the  disposal  of  their  country, 
but  who  had  no  proper  estimate  of  the  energies  and 
capacities  left  to  them.  People  wished  not  to  be  un- 
grateful, wished  to  provide  a  sphere  of  activity  for 
these  willing  patriots  in  which  they  could  do  no 
harm;  it  also  gave  an  opportunity  of  liberating 
fresher  forces  for  the  front.  All  this  may  have  been 
very  well,  so  long  as  we  could  reckon  with  a  short 
war  and  with  the  stability  of  home  affairs  as  they 
stood  in  1914;  but  it  ought  to  have  been  drastically 
ordered  to  fit  in  with  new  ideas,  when  the  duration 
of  the  war  could  no  longer  be  estimated  even  ap- 
proximately, when  it  became  necessary  to  consider 
carefully  the  possibility  of  new  or  recurrent  move- 
ments that  might  exercise  a  destructive  influence 
upon  the  unanimity  that  had  originally  been  so  re- 
assuring. No  such  thorough  adaptation  to  suit  the 
altered  circumstances  ever  took  place.  Whoever 
once  occupied  a  deputy's  post  occupied  it  perma- 
nently; or  if  a  post  became  vacant  by  death  or  be- 
cause the  substitute  was  really  too  utterly  incapable, 
it  was  filled  again  from  the  ranks  of  those  who  had 
failed  at  the  front  or  who,  through  illness  or  wounds, 


246    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

were  now  considered  fit  only  for  home  service.  A 
home  post!  What  harm  can  the  man  do  there? 
The  man  who  was  no  longer  a  man,  whose  energies 
were  used  up,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  war,  or  who, 
if  he  had  been  to  the  front,  had,  with  few  exceptions, 
returned  embittered  to  regard  home  service  as  a 
buenretiro  after  labors  accomplished, — this  type  of 
man  caused  us  untold  injury.  Just  in  the  last  years 
of  the  war,  all  the  human  material  that  we  called  up 
and  combed  out  ought  to  have  passed  through  the 
strongest  and  firmest  hands  before  being  incor- 
porated at  the  front.  These  men,  who  were,  for  the 
most  part,  worm-eaten  by  revolutionary  ideas  or 
tainted  with  pacifist  notions,  ought  to  have  been 
trained  by  vigorous  educative  work  into  disciplined 
men  worthy  of  their  comrades  at  the  front.  With  a 
few  nice  phrases  such  as  were  common  at  the  meet- 
ings of  "warriors'  societies"  or  at  memorial  festivi- 
ties, no  such  educative  work  could  be  performed. 
And  what  the  homeland  failed  to  do  could  never  be 
done  afterwards  by  instruction  in  patriotism,  were  it 
never  so  well  meant.  To  my  mind,  the  idea  of  in- 
stilling into  the  men  within  sound  of  the  guns  the 
patriotism  they  lacked  was  naive  in  the  extreme. 
We  received  as  supplementary  drafts  men  who  had 
started  with  the  determination  to  hold  up  their  hands 
at  the  very  first  opportunity.  But  it  was  the  mis- 
taken method  of  filling  the  responsible  positions  in 
the  commandos  that  avenged  itself  most  terribly. 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  247 

In  the  summer  and  early  autumn  of  1918,  the 
spreading  demoralization  became  more  and  more 
noticeable  in  the  occupied  territory.  The  order  that 
originally  existed  behind  the  lines  was  visibly  de- 
teriorating. In  the  larger  camps  on  the  lines  of  com- 
munications, thousands  of  straggling  shirkers  and 
men  on  leave  roamed  about;  some  of  them  regarded 
every  day  that  they  could  keep  away  from  their 
units  as  a  boon  from  heaven;  some  of  them  were 
totally  unable  to  join  their  regiments  on  account  of 
the  overburdening  of  the  railways.  I  remember  at 
the  time  a  journey  to  the  front  which  took  me  through 
Hirson  Junction.  It  was  just  dinner-time  for  men 
going  on  leave  and  stragglers,  who  stood  around  by 
the  hundred.  I  mingled  with  the  crowd  and  talked 
to  many  of  the  men.  What  I  heard  was  saddening 
indeed.  Most  of  them  were  sick  and  tired  of  the  war 
and  scarcely  made  an  effort  to  hide  their  disinclina- 
tion to  rejoin  their  units.  Nor  were  they  all  rascals; 
there  was  many  a  face  there  which  showed  that  the 
nerves  had  given  way,  that  the  energy  was  gone, 
that  the  primitive  and  unchecked  impulse  of  self- 
preservation  had  got  the  mastery  over  all  recogni- 
tion of  the  necessity  for  holding  out  or  resisting. 
Of  course  among  the  stragglers  in  Hirson  there  were 
also  a  number  of  fine  fellows  who  maintained  their 
courage  and  bearing.  To  meet  this  disintegration 
of  forces  which  might  have  been  concentrated  into 
a  valuable  help  for  our  daily  increasing  needs  noth- 


248    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

ing,  or  next  to  nothing,  was  attempted.  New  com- 
prehensive and  thorough  measures  were  imperative 
here,  and  they  should  have  been  intrusted  to  the 
Higher  Command  to  enforce.  Within  the  sphere  of 
our  Army  Group,  we  naturally  did  everything  that 
lay  in  our  power  to  introduce  some  sort  of  order  into 
the  chaos,  but  we  received  very  slight  support  in  our 
efforts. 

The  discipline  behind  the  lines  slackened  omi- 
nously. This  I  could  perceive  in  Charleville,  the 
headquarters  of  the  Army  Group.  Men  had  con- 
stantly to  be  taken  to  task  on  account  of  their  slack 
bearing  and  their  failure  to  salute.  Men  returned 
from  leave,  who  had  previously  performed  their 
duties  in  an  exemplary  manner,  were  inclined  to 
insubordination  and  mutiny.  The  younger  replace- 
ments were,  at  best,  utterly  wanting  in  enthusiasm 
and  generally  showed  an  absolutely  frivolous  con- 
ception of  patriotism,  duty  and  fidelity — things 
which,  for  a  soldier,  should  be  sacred  matters.  Un- 
fortunately, the  highest  authorities  resolved  upon 
no  energetic  or  exemplary  measures  in  regard  to 
these  dangerous  phenomena.  The  behavior  of  the 
French  population  was,  it  is  true,  correct;  but  they 
did  not  disguise  their  delight  at  our  manifest  de- 
cline. 

By  the  end  of  September,  events  came  fast  and 
furious.    It  was  like  a  vast  conflagration  that  had 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  249 

long  smouldered  in  secret  and  that,  suddenly  getting 
air,  now  burst  into  flame  at  numberless  spots. 
Fire  everywhere:  here  in  the  west  and  in  the  south- 
east and  at  home.  The  collapse  of  Bulgaria  was 
the  first  visible  sign.  Bad  tidings  had  arrived  from 
the  Balkan  front  on  September  26.  They  reached 
us  while  our  own  Army  Group  was  itself  engaged  in 
a  severe  defensive  battle  against  big  attacks  to  the 
west  of  the  Aisne  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Argonne 
from  eastward  of  Rheims  up  to  the  Meuse,  a  battle 
which,  despite  all  our  heroic  resistance,  ended  in 
our  having  to  yield  ground  to  the  vastly  superior 
masses  of  the  enemy  with  their  armored  tanks. 
The  Bulgarians,  under  the  heavy  pressure  of  the 
united  forces  of  the  Entente  on  the  Macedonian 
front,  had  retired  on  a  wide  line.  They  had  lost 
a  great  number  of  prisoners  and  a  large  quantity 
of  material;  and,  as  we  gathered  from  the  brief 
telegrams  and  telephone  messages,  Malmoff,  the 
Bulgarian  Prime  Minister,  believed  that  he  could 
only  meet  these  reverses  by  entering  upon  peace  ne- 
gotiations with  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  En- 
tente armies.  The  situation  thus  created  spelled 
serious  peril  for  us;  the  elimination  of  Bulgaria 
might  mean  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  the  Central 
Powers;  the  Danube  lay  open  to  the  Entente  forces; 
the  invasion  of  Roumania  and  Hungary  had  been 
brought  within  the  bounds  of  more  immediate  possi- 
bility.   The  news  caused  the  Kaiser  and  the  General 


250    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Higher  Command  at  Avesnes  the  greatest  consterna- 
tion. For  the  time  being,  the  gap  was  stopped;  the 
influence  of  the  King  and  of  the  Crown  Prince  Boris 
succeeded  in  stemming  the  rout;  and  the  General 
Higher  Command  arranged  for  the  immediate  trans- 
port to  the  Balkans  of  some  Austrian  divisions  and 
of  several  divisions  from  the  east  to  succor  the 
severely  damaged  front. 

Meantime  the  most  vehement  attacks  upon  the 
entire  west  front  from  Flanders  to  the  east  of  the 
Argonne  were  continued  by  the  Entente  armies  with 
a  savage  determination  such  as  had  never  been  dis- 
played before.  We  received  the  impression  of  being 
at  the  climax  of  the  concentric  hostile  offensive  and 
— though  the  gigantic  attack  might  compel  us  to 
yield  ground — ^we  felt  that,  by  devoting  all  our 
strength  to  the  endeavor,  we  might,  after  all,  main- 
tain our  position;  only  that  behind  this  desperate 
effort  still  lurked  the  agonizing  question:  "How  long 
yet?'^ 

On  September  28,  I  visited  my  brother  Fritz, 
who,  with  his  division.  First  Guards  division,  was 
engaged  in  severe  combat  with  the  Americans  at 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Argonne.  I  know  my 
brother  to  be  a  very  brave,  intrepid  and  cool-headed 
man  and  one  whose  care  for  his  troops  was  exem- 
plary. He  was  accustomed  to  affliction  and  distress; 
the  First  Guards  had  stood  all  along  where  things 
had  been  about  as  hot  as  they  could  be,  at  Ypres,  in 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  251 

Champagne,  at  the  Somme,  the  Chemin  des  Dames, 
Gorlice,  the  Argonne.  This  time  I  found  him  changed; 
he  was  filled  with  unutterable  bitterness;  he  saw  the 
end  approaching  and,  together  with  his  men,  fought 
desperately.  He  gave  me  a  description  of  the  situa- 
tion which  filled  me  with  dismay.  His  entire  di- 
vision consisted  of  500  rifles  in  the  fighting  zone; 
the  staff  with  their  despatch-carriers  were  fighting  in 
the  front  line,  rifle  in  hand.  The  artillerymen  were 
extremely  fatigued,  the  guns  were  worn  out,  fresh 
ones  were  scarcely  to  be  got  from  the  works,  the 
rations  were  insufficient  and  bad.  What  was  to 
come  of  it  all  ?  The  American  attacks  were  in  them- 
selves badly  planned;  they  showed  ignorance  of  war- 
fare; the  men  advanced  in  columns  and  were  mowed 
down  by  our  remaining  machine-guns.  No  great 
danger  lay  there.  But  their  tanks  pierced  our 
thin  lines — one  man  every  twenty  metres — and 
fired  on  us  from  behind.  Not  till  then,  did  the 
American  infantry  advance.  Withal  the  Ameri- 
cans had  at  their  disposal  an  incredible  quantity  of 
heavy  and  very  heavy  artillery.  Their  preliminary 
firing  greatly  exceeded  in  intensity  and  heaviness 
anything  we  had  known  at  Verdun  or  on  the  Somme. 
In  a  report  I  made  to  His  Majesty  at  Spa,  I  de- 
scribed to  him  in  detail  the  desperate  condition  of 
these  First  Guards;  the  Kaiser  talked  about  it  to 
Ludendorff;  but  no  decision  to  relieve  them  was 
arrived  at;  I  may  admit  that  perhaps  it  could  not 


252    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

be  done,  for  we  now  needed  every  available  man  for 
the  last  struggle. 

At  this  time,  all  my  attention  and  energy  were 
devoted  to  the  stormy  events  at  the  front  and  to 
the  troops  intrusted  to  me.  Almost  daily,  I  was 
in  the  fighting  zone;  and,  till  far  into  October,  I 
was  so  occupied  with  my  duties  as  leader  of  the  Army 
Group  that  I  was  unable  to  follow  attentively  the 
highly  important  political  events  which  were  taking 
place,  although  I  recognized  them  to  be  of  the  most 
serious  import.  Hence,  while,  in  another  place, 
I  can  report  from  personal  experience  and  from  my 
own  judgment  concerning  the  gigantic  battle  in 
which  we  were  engaged,  I  can  only  briefly  refer 
to  those  political  happenings  which  may  be  con- 
sidered more  or  less  matters  of  common  knowledge. 

On  September  30,  I  received  from  His  Excellency 
von  Berg  an  unexpected  telephone  call  to  Spa, 
where,  in  the  General  Headquarters,  important  de- 
cisions of  a  military  character  touching  the  question 
of  peace  and  the  situation  at  home  had  been  made 
or  were  about  to  be  made.  Since  I  had  hitherto 
been  carefully  confined  to  the  scope  of  my  military 
duties,  this  order  suggested  that  something  unusual 
was  in  the  air.  There  was  no  reason  to  hope  for 
anything  good;  and  the  information  that  met  me  at 
Spa  was  truly  startling  and  dismaidng  even  to  one 
who,  like  myself,  had  come  prepared  to  hear  bad 
news.    I  will  sketch  in  a  few  lines  what  I  learned. 


! 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  253 

Field-Marshal  General  von  Hindenburg  and  Gen- 
eral Ludendorff  had  conferred  with  the  minister  for 
foreign  affairs  and  had  been  informed  that,  in  pur- 
suance of  the  negotiations  of  August  14,  efforts  had 
been  made  to  approach  the  enemy  states  through 
the  mediation  of  neutral  powers,  but  that  these 
had  failed  to  develop  into  peace  negotiations,  nor 
was  there  any  hope  of  success  in  that  direction. 

In  reply  to  the  Foreign  Office's  declaration  of 
bankruptcy,  the  representatives  of  the  General 
Higher  Command  had  stated  that,  in  consideration 
of  their  own  breakdown  in  the  field  and  at  home  and 
considering  the  enormous  superiority  of  the  enemy 
forces  and  the  gigantic  efforts  they  were  making, 
they  saw  themselves  faced  with  the  impossibility  of 
gaining  a  military  victory.  Even  though  this  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy  appeared  to  be  the  last 
possible  spurt  before  the  finish,  success  for  us  could 
no  longer  give  us  "victory,"  but,  as  had  been  ad- 
mitted in  August,  could  only  lie  in  our  surviving  the 
enemy's  will  to  continue  the  war, — in  a  struggle  as 
to  whether  one  could  hold  out  to  the  last  quarter  of 
an  hour.  Considering  the  utter  failure  of  the  home 
departments  and  the  question  of  reserves,  it  had  to 
be  acknowledged  that  the  only  thing  possible  was 
to  choose  a  better  defensive  position  in  which  to 
winter.  During  that  period,  an  armistice  and  peace 
negotiations  should  and  must  be  begun.  The  Meuse 
position,  which  my  chief  of  staff  and  I  had  advocated 


254    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

immediately  after  the  unsuccessful  Rheims  offensive 
in  July  and  while  we  could  have  with  comparative 
ease  disengaged  ourselves  from  the  enemy,  was  now 
to  be  occupied  for  the  winter  defensive. 

Still  more  threatening  was  what  the  secretary  of 
state  had  to  report  concerning  the  situation  at 
home,  where  the  people  had  glided  faster  and  faster 
under  the  control  and  the  influence  of  the  majority 
parties.  According  to  his  statements,  revolution, 
struggling  for  control  of  the  State,  stood,  as  it  were, 
knocking  at  the  door.  Induced  by  the  conditions 
arising  out  of  the  unfavorable  military  situation,  and 
quite  regardless  of  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the 
State,  the  majority  parties — who  desired  the  offensive 
for  their  own  ends — had  made  a  violent  attack  in 
the  principal  committee  of  the  Reichstag,  upon  the 
Imperial  Chancellor,  Count  von  Hertling. 

The  main  accusations  brought  against  him  were: 
— the  supremacy  of  the  deputy  commanding  gen- 
erals at  home,  the  Suffrage  Act,  and  the  influence 
without  responsibility  exercised  upon  home  politics 
by  the  Higher  Command.  The  demands  put  for- 
ward were  aimed  frankly  at  parliamentary  control 
of  the  Government  and  the  shelving  of  the  military 
regime.  The  two  ways  of  overcoming  the  crisis 
would  have  been,  on  the  one  hand,  for  the  Govern- 
ment to  assert  its  authority  in  unequivocal  fashion 
by  acting,  in  the  one  case,  with  all  the  powers  of  a 
dictator,  in  the  other  to  submit  and  grant  the  dc-* 
mands  of  the  majority  parties. 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  255 

The  secretary  of  state  believed  it  possible  to  dis- 
arm the  revolutionary  movement  by  granting  par- 
liamentary government  on  a  broad  national  basis; 
hence  he  advocated  this  policy  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  circumstances  in  the  country  and  our  re- 
lations with  the  enemy  were  highly  unpropitious 
for  such  a  reorganization  of  the  constitution.  Thus, 
the  revolution  threatening  from  below  was  to  be 
suffocated  with  the  mantle  of  a  revolution  from 
above ;  and  a  fresh  welding  together  of  the  decaying 
forces  of  the  people  was  to  be  effected  under  the 
slogan  of  a  **  Government  of  National  Defense."  I 
will  gladly  assume  it  to  be  indisputable  that  these 
responsible  statesmen  who  advocated  this  policy 
believed  in  the  possibility  of  getting  workable  con- 
ditions by  their  method  and  that  they  hoped  for 
a  certain  yield  from  the  new  government  firm,  at 
any  rate  in  foreign  affairs,  /.  e.,  with  a  view  to  the 
peace  negotiations.  But  I  must  confess  that  I 
could  not  resist  the  impression  that  it  was  all  a 
matter  of  fine  words,  that  the  whole  thing  was  only 
the  form  (evil  in  itself  and  embellished  by  auto- 
suggestion) under  which  its  advocates  abandoned 
the  power  in  the  State  to  their  opponents  of  the 
majority  parties. 

His  Majesty  agreed  to  the  proposals  of  these 
gentlemen.  The  manifold  difficulties  now  crowding 
forward  had  already  reached  the  steps  of  the  throne, 
and  the  Kaiser,  under  pressure  of  these  problems. 


256    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

seemed  to  be  suffering  from  a  lack  of  psychical 
stamina;  he  appeared  unable  to  assume  a  strong, 
self-reliant  position.  Consequently,  in  the  various 
proposals  of  his  military  and  political  counsellors, 
he  saw  succor  and  support,  at  which  he  eagerly 
grasped  in  order,  for  the  moment  at  least,  to  feel 
that  the  dangers  were  surmounted. 

The  position  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor,  Count 
von  Hertling,  whose  age  and  infirmities  rendered 
him  physically  unfit  for  his  office,  appeared  so  se- 
verely shaken  that  the  Kaiser,  since  the  Count  de- 
clined to  participate  in  the  change  of  constitution, 
declared  himself  willing  to  accept  the  resignation 
that  had  been  tendered.  As  successors  were  men- 
tioned, first  of  all,  Prince  Max  of  Baden  and  the 
secretary  to  the  imperial  exchequer.  Count  Rodem; 
the  selection  of  the  latter  appearing  the  more 
probable. 

On  account  of  the  menacing  and  uncertain  general 
situation  at  the  front  and  at  home,  the  gentlemen 
from  Berlin,  as  well  as  those  of  His  Majesty's  suite 
and  of  the  General  Headquarters,  were  in  a  very 
serious  mood.  In  regard  to  the  military  difficulties, 
it  was  hoped,  however,  that  the  great  battle  on  the 
west  front  might  be  fought  out  without  any  severe 
defeat.  Moreover,  a  hope  of  keeping  the  allies  who 
had  become  unreliable  was  also  cherished.  People 
likewise  believed  themselves  able,  by  carrying  out 
the  intended  constitutional  change,  to  effect  such 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  257 

an  alteration  of  the  mental  trend  at  home  that,  on 
the  whole,  a  firm  front  could  be  shown  at  home  and 
abroad. 

Personally,  I  could  not  share  the  optimism  dis- 
played in  this  view  of  matters  at  home.  Both  by 
nature  and  by  conviction  gained  from  history  and 
experience,  I  always  possessed  a  leaning  towards  the 
British  constitutional  system,  and  I  have  thought 
much  about  its  adaptability  to  our  form  of  state. 
As  I  have  pointed  out  before,  I  was  not  spared  a 
good  many  rebuffs  and  criticisms  whenever,  in  pre- 
war years,  I  expounded  and  defended  my  opinions 
on  this  subject.  What  was  now  to  take  place,  ap- 
peared to  fall  into  line  with  my  notions.  Appeared 
to  do  so,  though  in  reality  it  had  nothing  in  common 
with  them. 

Only  what  is  given  with  a  willing  hand  meets 
with  appreciation;  what  is  ultimately  snatched  with 
the  claim  of  a  right,  after  it  has  been  withheld  time 
and  again,  has  no  value  as  a  gift.  To  divest  one- 
self of  a  thing  voluntarily  and  at  the  right  moment 
and  with  discernment  is  manly  and  regal,  if  the 
word  may  be  used;  but  it  is  just  as  manly  and  regal 
to  refuse  what  is  to  be  extorted  as  the  prize  of  a 
trial  of  strength  in  the  hour  of  a  country's  bitterest 
need  when  it  is  struggling  for  existence.  A  liberal, 
voluntary  and  timely  reconstruction  of  our  consti- 
tution would  have  revealed  the  strength  of  the 
crown;  it  would  have  disarmed  the  opposition  and 


258    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

brought  it  back  to  a  sense  of  duty.  But  for  the  crown 
to  yield  to  violent  claims,  backed  by  threats  of 
revolution,  was  to  display  signs  of  helplessness  and 
feebleness  which  could  only  increase  the  cupidity 
of  the  covetous  within  the  country  and  without. 
At  the  moment  when  the  flood  was  at  hand,  a  dyke 
was  razed,  because  it  was  believed  possible  to  as- 
suage and  calm  the  approaching  billows  by  re- 
moving the  obstruction.  Madness!  One  merely 
gave  up  everything  that  lay  behind  the  dyke;  the 
Spa  decisions  unconditionally  abandoned  the  powers 
of  the  State  to  the  parties  of  the  extreme  left  who 
were  going  "the  whole  hog,"  aiming  at  revolution. 
In  the  teeth  of  the  storm,  one  should  have  been 
strong  and  shown  one's  strength.  But  the  rigid 
home  programme  of  August  14,  the  programme  of 
thoroughness,  order,  strictness,  energy,  the  pro- 
gramme of  no  longer  closing  one's  eyes,  the  pro- 
gramme which,  in  the  days  of  the  first  sinister 
omens,  had  been  demanded  by  Ludendorfif  as  a 
conditio  sine  qua  non  and  which  had  been  promised 
by  the  chancellor, — ^that  programme  had  never 
been  carried  out.  Nothing  had  been  done  since 
then.  Now,  when  the  storm  was  howling,  it  was 
too  late  to  strengthen  the  rotten  bulwarks,  to  repair 
the  neglected  dykes.  No  dyke  captain  or  dictator, 
were  he  ever  so  talented,  were  he  the  immortal 
dyke  captain  von  Schonhausen  himself,  could  undo 
or  retrieve  in  a  few  hours  the  sins  and  the  negligences 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  259 

of  many  years.  That  we  no  longer  knew  a  firm 
hand  in  the  country,  that  the  Government  had  for 
years  not  led,  but  suffered  things  to  go  as  they 
pleased,  brought  about  consequences  that  decided 
the  question  of  supremacy.  And  on  that  day,  men, 
whose  final  wisdom  it  was  to  lay  upon  other  shoulders 
the  responsibility  for  the  results  of  their  own  inca- 
pacity, abandoned  monarchy  bowing  to  the  demo- 
cratic demands  of  our  enemies  and  to  threatening 
internationalism  of  every  shade.  As  I  have  al- 
ready said.  His  Excellency  von  Hintze,  the  secre- 
tary of  state  for  foreign  affairs,  undertook  to  report 
upon  the  situation  in  the  interior  as  well  and  to 
recommend  as  the  best  solution  the  "revolution  from 
above,"  which,  as  things  stood,  was  nothing  but 
"surrender  at  discretion."  Strange  that  this  man, 
whose  praiseworthy  past  entitled  him  to  be  held 
worthy  and  to  be  trusted,  and  who,  as  Kiihlmann's 
successor,  might  have  accomplished  so  much, — 
strange  that  this  man  should  have  chosen  this 
course. 

In  truth  and  honor,  it  must  be  said  that  what  I 
have  just  written  is,  in  part,  the  outcome  of  pos- 
thumous consideration  and  discernment.  Into  the 
short  hours  of  that  conference,  there  was  forced  and 
pressed  so  much  exciting  news  and  I  was  so  anxious 
to  get  back  to  the  troops  and  the  battle  from  which 
I  had  been  called  that  I  only  grasped  the  general 
outline  of  affairs.    Nor,  indeed,  was  I  asked  for  my 


260    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

opinion  on  all  those  seething  problems  or  on  all  that, 
in  the  main,  was  already,  unalterably  fixed  by  de- 
terminations arising  out  of  the  agony  of  the  mo- 
ment. It  was  almost  a  wonder  that  people  had 
remembered  that  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  group  was  also  the  Crown  Prince  of  Germany 
and  of  Prussia.  Irresponsible,  without  rights,  but 
nevertheless.  .  .  .  And  so  I  was  summoned,  and 
while  a  thousand  voices  called  me  away  to  the 
post  of  my  soldier's  duties,  I  had  to  look  on  at  events 
which  were  irresistibly  concentrating  themselves  to 
produce  the  great  crash. 

Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  confer- 
ence, the  Kaiser  left  for  home;  and  the  field-marshal 
general  followed  him  on  October  1,  as  he  himself 
said,  to  be  near  His  Majesty  in  those  days  of 
gravest  decision,  to  give  information  to  the  Gov- 
ernment now  forming  and  to  strengthen  its  confi- 
dence. 

On  October  2,  indications  accumulated  that,  in 
spite  of  the  original  doubts,  Prince  Max  of  Baden 
would  be  selected  as  Imperial  Chancellor,  his  origin 
and  personality  affording  a  guarantee,  as  it  was  then 
thought,  that  the  interests  of  the  crown  would  be 
safeguarded  in  the  reorganization  of  home  politics 
which  appeared  to  have  become  necessary.  In  the 
preliminary  negotiations,  the  Prince  seemed  to  have 
adopted  unreservedly  the  official  programme  of  the 
majority  parties. 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  261 

February,  192L 
My  Army  Group  was  still  struggling  in  the  sever- 
est defensive  battle,  when  I  learned  of  the  actual 
appointment  of  Prince  Max  of  Baden  on  October  1. 
A  new  Government  had  been  created,  containing 
several  social-democratic  members.  This  innova- 
tion signified,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  a  reversal 
of  the  home  policy  of  the  empire,  a  change  of  sys- 
tem in  the  direction  of  democracy  and  parliamen- 
tary government.  Whether  that  which,  to  some 
extent,  had  been  produced  under  the  pressure  of  a 
very  serious  foreign  situation  would  really  prove 
capable  of  welding  the  nation  together  remained  to 
be  seen. 

On  October  4,  my  Army  Group  was  again  en- 
gaged in  the  severest  defensive  fighting,  the  enemy 
having  commenced  a  general  attack  along  the  en- 
tire western  front.  The  battle  raged  bitterly  on 
the  ridge  and  the  slopes  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames 
between  the  Ailette  and  the  Aisne,  in  Champagne, 
on  both  sides  of  the  road  leading  northward  from 
Somme-Py,  between  the  Argonne  and  the  Meuse, 
to  the  east  of  the  Aisne  and  on  both  sides  of  the 
Montfaucon-Bautheville  road.  Since  September  26, 
we  had  located  no  fewer  than  thirty-seven  attack- 
ing divisions.  And  they  had  artillery,  tanks  and 
fliers  in  apparently  inexhaustible  quantity.  On  the 
whole,  our  older  troops  behaved  magnificently 
and  fought  with  undiminished  tenacity.    And  yet 


262    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

we  now  suffered  losses  in  men  and  material  such 
as  we  had  formerly  never  known.  Oftener  and 
oftener  did  individual  divisions  now  fail  us — ^partly 
through  exhaustion,  but  also  (and  that  was  the 
most  serious  point)  on  account  of  the  international 
and  pacifistic  contamination  of  the  troops.  Cour- 
ageously advancing  troops  were  howled  at  as  "war- 
protractors"  and  "blacklegs."  Distrust  of  their 
comrades  caused  demoralization  in  the  resisting 
powers  of  the  whole  body;  failure  on  the  part  of  cer- 
tain contaminated  troops  led  to  our  flank  being  turned 
and  to  the  capture  of  groups  that  were  honestly  fight- 
ing; frequently,  therefore,  such  unreliable  troops 
had  to  be  eliminated  and  the  gaps  filled  with  trust- 
worthy but  overfatigued  divisions.  And  so  I  had  to 
use  up  my  best  capital,  although  I  realized  fully 
what  it  meant.  And  yet,  even  now,  I  could  weep 
when  I  think  of  the  unbroken  spirit  of  self-sacrifice 
shown  by  the  trusty,  brave  and  well-tried  troops  who 
faithfully  performed  to  the  last  their  severe  duty. 
They  upheld,  through  all  that  misery,  our  best  tra- 
ditions. 

On  that  4th  of  October,  I  drove  over  to  Avesnes 
for  a  conference  with  Lieutenant-General  von  Boehn 
and  his  general  staff;  from  there  I  went  on  to  Mons 
and  discussed  the  military  situation  at  length  with 
the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria  and  his  chief  of  gen- 
eral staff.  His  Excellency  von  Kuhl.  We  were  unani- 
mously of  opinion  that,  in  the  present  conditions,  we 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  263 

could  not  continue  to  maintain  contested  positions 
on  our  war-worn  front  in  the  face  of  continuous  at- 
tacks by  an  enemy  in  superior  force.  We  lacked 
the  troops  requisite  for  counter-attacking  and  for 
providing  our  soldiers  with  the  necessary  repose. 
Consequently,  it  appeared  to  us  essential  to  relin- 
quish further  territory  and,  while  covering  our  with- 
drawal, to  take  up  more  retired  positions  and  thus, 
by  shortening  our  front,  to  obtain  the  reserves  essen- 
tial for  a  continuation  of  the  battle,  whose  duration 
it  was  not  possible  to  determine. 

While  my  brave  divisions,  ragged  and  tattered 
as  they  were,  were  retiring  step  by  step  and  defend- 
ing themselves  as  they  went, — ^Berlin  despatched, 
to  the  President  of  the  North  American  Republic, 
via  Switzerland,  the  offer  which  suggested  a  "just 
peace,"  based  in  essence  upon  the  principles  put 
forward  by  Wilson, — an  offer  which  was  coupled 
with  a  disastrous  request  for  the  granting  of  an 
armistice. 

The  struggle  continued,  and  there  was  no  end  to 
the  battle  visible.  Our  troops  were  now  opposed 
to  enormously  superior  odds,  both  in  men  and 
material.  They  withstood  them;  they  intercepted 
attacks,  and  evacuated  ground;  they  closed  up  to 
form  a  new  front  and  offered  fresh  resistance.  Al- 
most daily  I  was  at  the  front  and  saw  and  spoke  to 
the  men.  They  behaved  heroically  in  the  unequal 
combat,  and  faithfully  fulfilled  their  duty  to  the 


264    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

death.  He  lies  who  asserts  that  the  fighting  spirit 
of  the  front  was  broken.  It  was  stronger  than  the 
shattered  and  exhausted  bodies  of  the  men.  The 
men  grumbled  whenever  they  had  a  moment's 
time  to  grumble,  just  as  every  genuine  German 
grumbles;  but,  when  it  came  to  the  point,  they 
were  ever  ready  again. 

And  these  incessant  battles  had  a  curious  result. 
They  effected  a  kind  of  self-purification  of  the 
troops.  Whatever  was  foul  and  corrupt  filtered 
through  into  captivity  with  the  enemy;  what  re- 
mained to  us  was  the  healthy  kernel.  All  that 
these  emaciated  and  miserably  cared  for,  these 
overfatigued  and  death-hunted  German  warriors 
could  possibly  give,  that  they  gave.  Gratefully 
my  thoughts  fly  back  to  them — to  those  whose 
bodies  lie  where  we  left  them,  and  to  those  living 
ones  now  scattered  in  German  cities  and  German 
villages,  who  follow  the  plough,  who  stand  at  the 
anvil,  who  sit  at  their  desks,  to  all  who  are  peace- 
fully laboring  again  in  the  homeland. 

Still  the  enemy  rushed  on;  every  day  brought  a 
big  attack;  the  air  trembled  in  fire;  the  dull  thuds, 
the  roar,  the  rattling  peals  never  paused  again. 

On  the  night  of  the  5th,  the  left  wing  of  the  I 
Army  had  retired  behind  Suippes;  in  order  to  get 
into  touch  again  with  the  retreating  VII,  it  had 
to  leave  the  salient  of  the  Rheims  front  and  to  with- 
draw its  right  wing  as  far  as  Conde.    On  October 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  265 

10,  the  XVIII  Army,  which  at  that  time  had  also 
been  ranged  under  the  Army  Group,  retired,  fight- 
ing hard,  to  the  scarcely  marked  out  Hermann  line. 

While  all  my  thoughts  were  concentrated  upon  the 
battle  and  upon  the  German  soldiers  intrusted  to 
me,  there  reached  my  ears  from  home  news  that 
sounded  distant  and  strange:  the  wording  of  our 
Peace  Note  to  President  Wilson;  the  brusque 
refusal  voiced  by  the  Paris  press;  the  reply  which 
evaded  replying  and  demanded  our  agreement  to 
evacuate  all  occupied  territory  as  a  condition  of 
an  armistice.  There  was  talk  of  consultations 
among  the  leading  statesmen,  of  the  formation  by 
the  Higher  Command  of  an  armistice  commission 
under  the  expert.  General  von  Guendell.  War 
Minister  von  Stein,  resigned  his  office  and  was  re- 
placed by  General  Schenck. 

We  fought.  The  rage  of  the  battle  began  to 
subside  slowly  at  the  end  of  the  second  week.  There 
was  utter  exhaustion  on  both  sides.  We  had 
yielded  ground  under  the  enormous  pressure,  but 
we  stood;  and  nowhere  had  the  enemy  broken 
through.  On  the  10th,  the  III  Army  stood  in  the 
new  Bmnhilde  position  from  St.  Germainmont  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Aisne  passing  through  Bethel 
to  the  east  of  Vouziers  and  west  of  Grandpre.  Gall- 
witz  was  fighting  the  Americans  in  the  area  between 
Sivry  and  the  Forest  of  Haumont.  By  the  12th, 
the  I  Army  had  occupied,  according  to  plan,  the 


266    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Gudrun-Brunhilde  position  and  the  VII  Army  had 
retired  to  the  Hunding  position  behind  the  Oise- 
Serre  sector.  A  review  of  the  military  situation 
showed  that  the  threatened  collapse  of  the  west 
front  had  been  prevented  by  the  transfer  of  the 
lines  of  resistance  to  stronger  and  shorter  sectors. 
Despite  all  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  we  stood 
for  the  moment  fairly  firm;  and,  while  the  enemy 
might  be  preparing  for  fresh  concentration  and 
offensive,  we  could  ourselves  be  recuperating  and 
getting  ready  for  defense — and  such  a  breathing- 
space  was  more  than  necessary  to  the  overfatigued 
and  overtaxed  troops. 

There  remained,  in  my  opinion,  the  faint  hope 
that  the  peace  efforts  now  being  undertaken  might 
lead,  before  the  winter  began,  to  a  conclusion  of 
the  war  honorable  for  Germany  by  reason  of  its 
being  a  righteous  peace  of  reconciliation.  Failing 
this,  we  could — again,  according  to  my  personal 
views — reckon  with  a  possibility  of  holding  out  till 
the  spring  of  1919  at  the  uttermost. 

On  October  12,  in  reply  to  the  inquiry  of  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  Berlin  gave  a  binding  acceptance  of 
the  conditions  drawn  up  by  him  and  also  signified 
that  we  were  prepared  to  evacuate  the  occupied 
areas  on  certain  conditions. 

All  the  news  from  the  other  side  seemed  to  me  to 
reveal  vaguely  two  opinions  struggling  for  suprem- 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  267 

acy.  There  was  Wilson,  who  wanted  to  estabUsh  his 
fourteen  points;  there  was  Foch,  who  knew  only  one 
aim — our  destruction.  Which  would  win?  The 
couple  were  unequally  matched — the  sprinter  Wilson 
and  the  stayer  Foch.  If  things  were  quickly  settled, 
Wilson's  chances  were  good;  if  the  negotiations  were 
protracted,  time  was  in  Foch's  favor.  Every  day's 
delay  was  a  gain  to  him;  it  allowed  the  dry-rot  in 
the  homeland  to  spread;  it  enfeebled  and  wasted 
the  front,  which  was  mainly  buttressed  upon  aux- 
iliary and  defensive  positions. 

The  13th  brought  me  news  that  caused  me  great 
uneasiness  on  my  father's  account.  Developments 
in  home  politics  had  led  to  the  resignation  of  His 
Excellency  von  Berg,  the  excellent  and  well-tried 
chef  du  cabinet  militaire.  His  departure  removed 
from  the  permanent  inner  circle  of  the  Kaiser  a  man 
who,  by  reason  of  his  old  youthful  friendship  and 
disregard  of  courtly  conventions,  was  able,  in  loyal 
candor  and  simplicity,  to  show  the  Kaiser  things  as 
they  really  were. 

On  the  15th  the  vigorous  attacks  began  again 
against  the  Army  Group  of  Crown  Prince  Rup- 
precht,  against  me  and  against  Gallwitz.  The  en- 
emy had  pushed  forward  to  our  new  front  and 
made  a  fresh  onslaught.  Loss  of  ground  here  and 
there.  The  troops  were  nearly  played  out.  Next 
day,  Lille  fell.  With  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria 
things  were  worst.    Losses  were  sustained  wherever 


268    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  enemy  attacked.  Now  that  they  had  heard 
something  of  a  possible  armistice  and  approaching 
negotiations,  it  was  as  though  our  people  could  no 
longer  find  their  full  inner  strength  to  fight.  Also 
as  though,  here  and  there,  they  no  longer  wanted 
to.  But  where  lay  the  dividing  line  between  could 
and  would  with  these  men,  who  had  a  thousand 
times  bravely  risked  their  lives  for  their  country, 
and  whose  heads  were  fuddled  by  hunger,  pain, 
and  privation?  Does  that  final  and  single  failure 
make  a  coward  of  the  man  who  has  a  hundred  times 
shown  himself  a  hero?  No!  Only  it  deprives  him 
of  the  prize  for  which  he  risked  his  life  a  hundred 
times. 

Once  more — while  the  new  Government  is  making 
a  quick  change  toward  democracy  and  turning  the 
Imperial  constitution  topsyturvy — a  note  from 
President  Wilson.  It  is  in  a  new  tone — arrogant 
and  implacable,  it  imposes  conditions  which  consti- 
tute an  interference  in  Germany's  internal  affairs. 
It  voices  clearly  the  spirit  of  Foch  which  threatens 
to  overpower  Wilson — the  spirit  of  Foch,  which 
brags  of  the  military  results  of  the  last  few  days, 
who  wishes  for  postponement  and  delay  in  order 
that  the  disaster  which  has  swooped  upon  the  Ger- 
man people  and  the  German  army  may  rage  more 
madly  than  ever.  I  cannot  refrain  from  reproduc- 
ing here  a  page  from  my  diary  which  records  the 
situation  as  I  saw  it  then: 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  269 

*' There  is  at  the  moment  a  marked  contrast  be- 
tween Wilson  and  Foch.  Wilson  desires  a  peace 
by  justice,  reconciliation  and  understanding.  Foch 
wants  the  complete  humiliation  of  Germany  and  the 
gratification  of  French  vanity. 

"Every  manifestation  of  firmness  on  the  German 
front  and  in  the  German  diplomatic  attitude  strength- 
ens Wilson's  position;  every  sign  of  military  or  po- 
litical weakness  strengthens  Foch. 

"Wilson  demands  surrender  on  two  points  only: 

1.  U-boat  warfare;  no  more  passenger  ships  to  be 

sunk. 

2.  Democratization  of  Germany.     (No  deposition 

of  the   Kaiser;  only  constitutional  mon- 
archy; position  of  the  crown  as  in  England.) 

"A  military  humiliation  of  Germany  is  not  aimed 
at  by  Wilson.  Foch,  on  the  other  hand,  wishes, 
with  every  means  possible,  to  effect  a  complete  mili- 
tary capitulation  and  humiliation  (gratification  of 
French  revenge).  Which  of  the  two  will  get  the 
upper  hand  depends  solely  and  simply  upon  Ger- 
many. If  the  front  holds  out  and  we  preserve  a  dig- 
nified diplomatic  attitude,  Wilson  will  win.  Yield- 
ing to  Foch  means  the  destruction  of  Germany  and 
the  miscarriage  of  every  prospect  of  an  endurable 
peace. 

"England's  position  is  an  intermediate  one.  The 
main  difficulty  in  the  peace  movement  is  France. 


270    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

"Attainment  of  a  peace  by  understanding  is  ren- 
dered much  more  difficult  for  Wilson  by  the  fact  that 
our  democratization  and  the  peace  steps  have  come 
at  the  same  moment.  This  is  regarded  as  a  sign  of 
weakness,  and  it  strengthens  Foch's  position.  If 
we  want  a  peace  of  justice,  we  must  put  the  brake 
on  everywhere — especially  in  our  hankering  for 
peace  and  armistice.  Moreover,  we  must  do  every- 
thing possible  to  hold  the  front  and  to  direct  the 
further  democratization  along  calmer  or,  shall  we 
say,  more  reasonably  convincing  lines." 

What  was  written  above  about  Wilson  was,  at  the 
moment  for  which  it  was  intended,  perhaps  quite 
correct;  but  it  was  soon  no  longer  so.  Still  I  could 
believe  even  now  that  this  self-complaisant  theorist 
wanted,  at  first,  to  settle  matters  justly  and  con- 
scientiously— till  a  stronger  and  more  cunning  man 
caught  him  and,  with  ironic  superiority,  harnessed 
him  to  his  own  chariot. 

On  October  17,  Ostend,  Bruges  and  Toumay  were 
given  up  by  the  Army  Group  of  my  brave  cousin, 
Rupprecht;  on  the  19th,  the  enemy  settled  down  on 
both  sides  of  Vouziers  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Aisne 
and  began  preparations  for  further  attacks. 

From  home  there  arrives  news  of  feverish  excite- 
ment among  the  people.  Some  are  depressed  and 
despairing;  others  were  filled  with  the  hope  of  a 
reasonable  settlement.  And  then  rumors  of  an  ap- 
proaching abdication  of  the  Kaiser,  of  an  election  of 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  271 

the  House  of  Wittelsbach  in  place  of  the  Hohen- 
zollems,  of  a  regency  of  Prince  Max  of  Baden. 

Fighting  continues;  we  hold  out  fairly  well.  Any 
one  who  can  keep  on  his  legs  is  put  in  the  ranks;  for 
it  is  a  question  of  the  possibility  of  an  armistice,  of 
peace.  The  General  Higher  Command  emphati- 
cally warns  the  leaders  that,  considering  the  dip- 
lomatic negotiations  in  progress,  a  further  retreat 
might  have  the  most  serious  influence  upon  events. 

Hence,  we  must  hold  tight  to  the  Hermann  and 
the  Gudrun  positions !  Good  God !  What  have 
these  positions  to  offer?  They  are  incomplete  and, 
in  many  places,  only  marked  out ! 

And  yet,  the  men  who  for  four  years  have  given 
their  best,  prove  themselves  now,  in  these  hardest 
days,  to  be  the  finest,  the  trustiest  soldiers  in  the 
world !    They  hold  the  front ! 

On  the  21st,  we  learn  the  terms  of  the  Govern- 
ment's reply  to  Wilson.  Everything  has  been  done 
to  meet  his  wishes.  Surely,  on  this  basis,  he  can 
find  ways  and  means  to  conclude  an  armistice  and 
to  start  peace  negotiations.  Will  he  indeed  do  so? 
Will  he  do  so  still?  More  days  pass,  during  which 
thousands  of  Germans  and  men  of  all  nations  are 
mowed  down,  during  which  the  gentlemen  at  the 
green-baize  table  take  their  time,  during  which  our 
position  at  the  front  does  not  improve.  The  voice 
of  Wilson's  note  of  the  24th,  that  arrogant  and 
haughty  voice,  was  the  voice  of  Marshal  Foch — or 


272    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

the  voice  of  a  Wilson  who  had  sunk  to  be  the  puppet 
of  the  French  wire-puller  and  now  equalled  his  mas- 
ter in  hawking  and  spitting. 

Once  more,  in  those  gruesome,  sombre  days,  in 
which  I  saw  my  poor,  battered  divisions  sacrificing 
all  that  was  left,  my  heart  was  to  be  cheered  by 
my  brave  fellows.  It  was  on  October  25.  I  mo- 
tored to  the  front  to  convince  myself  of  the  condi- 
tion of  some  of  my  divisions  in  the  severe  fighting. 
After  visiting  the  divisional  staffs  of  the  50th  In- 
fantry and  the  4th  Guards,  I  proceeded  to  a  height 
from  which  I  hoped  to  get  a  sight  of  the  fighting 
lines. 

In  a  green  valley  in  front  of  the  village  of  Serain- 
court,  I  met  the  sectional  reserves  that  were  about 
to  march  into  the  fight.  They  consisted  of  the  regi- 
ments of  the  I  Infantry  Division  and  included  my 
Crown  Prince  Regiment.  When  the  troops  caught 
sight  of  my  car,  I  was  at  once  surrounded  by  a  throng 
of  waving  and  cheering  men.  All  of  them  betrayed 
only  too  clearly  the  effects  of  the  heavy  fighting  of 
the  last  few  months.  Their  uniforms  were  tattered, 
their  stripes  and  badges  were  scarcely  visible;  their 
faces  were  often  shockingly  haggard;  and  yet  their 
eyes  flashed  and  their  bearing  was  proud  and  con- 
fident. They  knew  that  I  trusted  them  and  that 
they  had  never  disappointed  me.  Pride  in  the  deeds 
of  their  division  inspired  them.  I  spoke  with  a 
good  many,  pressed  their  hands;  men  who  had  dis- 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  273 

tinguished  themselves  in  the  recent  battles  I  deco- 
rated with  the  cross.  Then  I  distributed  among 
them  my  small  store  of  chocolate  and  cigarettes. 
And  so,  in  all  the  bitterness  of  those  days,  a  delight- 
ful and  never-to-be-forgotten  hour  was  spent  in 
the  circle  of  my  well-tried  front  troops. 

Meantime,  the  French  had  got  the  village  that 
lay  before  us  under  heavy  fire  and  their  artillery 
now  began  to  sweep  the  meadows.  I  ordered  the 
battalions  to  open  out;  and,  as  I  drove  away,  loud 
hurrahs  were  hurled  after  me  from  the  throats  of 
my  beloved  "field-grays";  on  all  sides  there  was 
waving  of  caps  and  a  hoisting  of  rifles.  Without 
shame,  I  confess  that  the  cheers,  the  shouts,  the 
waving  brought  tears  into  my  eyes;  for  I  knew 
how  hard  and  how  desperate  was  the  entire  situa- 
tion. 

My  Grenadiers  at  Seraincourt!  They  were  the 
last  troop  whom,  with  flashing  eyes  and  hurrahing 
voices,  I  saw  march  to  battle.  Dear,  dear,  trusty 
lads,  each  of  whom  my  memory  salutes  gratefully 
from  this  island  of  mine.  A  few  hours  later  on  ar- 
riving at  the  Army  Group  quarters,  I  stood  again 
in  that  other  world  of  anguish  and  anxiety;  fresh 
tidings  of  a  severe  and  doubtful  character  awaited 
me  from  home. 

Next  day,  October  26,  I  received  by  telephone 
news  of  Ludendorff's  resignation.  In  connection 
with  the  well-known  incident  of  the  Higher  Com- 


274    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

mand's  telegram  to  the  troops  on  October  24,  he 
had  fallen  a  victim  to  Prince  Max  of  Baden's  Cabi- 
net question.  I  knew  at  once  that  this  meant  the 
end  of  things.  I  was  informed  that  the  intention  was 
to  appoint  General  Groner  as  his  successor.  I  rang 
up  the  field-marshal  general.  With  a  clear  knowl- 
edge of  what  it  signified,  I  urgently  adjured  him  to 
reconsider  his  purpose  and  implored  him  not  to 
select  this  man  in  whom  there  was  no  trace  of  the 
spirit  which  alone  could  save  us  now.  The  field- 
marshal  general,  who  doubtless  felt  constrained  to 
comply  with  the  views  of  the  Imperial  Government, 
was  of  a  different  opinion,  and  next  day  General 
Groner  was  appointed  first  quartermaster-general. 

On  October  28,  my  adjutant,  Miiller,  returned 
from  an  official  journey  to  the  homeland.  He 
brought  the  first  evil  news  of  mutiny  in  the  navy. 
From  his  report,  it  appeared  evident  that  the  revolu- 
tion was  already  menacingly  at  hand  in  Germany; 
but  that  apparently  nothing  was  being  done  at 
present  to  suppress  the  rising  movement.  With  a 
clear  appreciation  of  the  position,  Miiller  proposed 
the  posting  of  some  reliable  divisions  behind  the 
Army  Group  as  soon  as  possible,  so  that  one  might 
have  these  troops  ready  at  hand  if  necessity  arose 
for  their  employment.  This  suggestion  was  un- 
fortunately not  considered  further;  our  attention 
was  all  too  deeply  engaged  at  the  front  and  riveted, 
as  in  duty  bound,  on  the  troops  under  our  care. 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  275 

From  November  4  onward,  my  four  armies,  along 
their  entire  front,  retreated  towards  the  Antwerp- 
Meuse  position,  fighting  hard  as  they  retired  and 
performing  everything  in  perfect  order  and  abso- 
lutely according  to  plan. 

At  this  time.  General  Groner,  the  new  first 
quartermaster-general,  paid  us  a  visit.  The  chiefs 
of  my  four  armies  reported  upon  the  situation  of 
their  various  fronts.  All  of  them  laid  stress  on  the 
strained  condition  of  their  troops  and  the  entire  lack 
of  fresh  reserves.  But  they  were  quite  confident 
that  the  retreat  to  the  Antwerp-Meuse  position 
would  be  accomplished  successfully  and  that  the 
position  would  be  held. 

Afterwards  my  own  chief  of  staff  made  a  final  re- 
port, two  points  of  which  I  recall.  They  were  definite 
demands.  The  one  was  that  the  discussion  of  the 
Kaiser's  position  at  home  and  in  the  press,  must 
cease,  since  the  troops  were  quite  incapable  of  bear- 
ing this  burden  in  addition  to  all  the  rest.  The 
other  demand  was  that  the  General  Higher  Com- 
mand must  not  issue  instructions  which  they  them- 
selves did  not  believe  could  be  carried  out;  if,  for 
instance,  the  retention  of  a  position  was  ordered, 
the  troops  must  be  put  in  condition  to  hold  it; 
confidence  in  the  leadership  was  shaken  by  com- 
mands which  the  front  was  unable  to  obey  because, 
in  the  given  circumstances,  it  was  impossible  to 
carry  them  into  effect. 

On  November  5,  the  Higher  Command  of  the 


276    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Army  Group  shifted  its  quarters  from  Charleville 
to  Waulsort,  about  50  kilometres  farther  north. 
This  small  place  lies  half-way  between  Civet  and 
Dinant  in  a  ragged,  rock-girt  valley,  which,  at  the 
time  of  our  arrival,  was  filled  with  a  thick,  clammy 
fog — sombre  and  depressing.  I  lodged  with  a  Bel- 
gian, named  Count  de  Jonghe,  a  nobleman  of  agree- 
able tactfulness.  In  a  long  talk  during  the  evening, 
he  summarized  his  views  on  the  causes  of  our  break- 
down, which  was  now  patent  to  the  inhabitants. 
Germany,  he  said,  had  committed  two  grievous  mis- 
takes: she  ought  to  have  made  peace  in  the  autumn 
of  1914;  if  she  had  then  failed  to  obtain  it,  she  ought 
to  have  appointed  a  civil  dictator  with  unlimited 
powers  and  possessed  of  the  energy  necessary  to 
secure  order  in  the  interior. 

On  the  same  evening,  Major  von  Bock,  the  first 
general  staff  officer  of  the  Army  Group,  told  me  that 
he  had  been  insulted  in  the  open  streets  by  a  Land- 
sturm  soldier  from  the  lines  of  commimication.  Two 
days  later  I  made  my  first  personal  acquaintance 
with  the  revolution.  I  was  driving  with  my  orderly 
officer,  Zobeltitz,  along  the  Meuse  road  from  Waul- 
sort to  Civet  to  visit  once  more  the  troops  who  were 
to  hold  the  Meuse  line.  A  few  kilometres  from 
Waulsort,  just  as  we  reached  a  spot  where  the  rail- 
way runs  close  beside  the  highroad,  we  saw  a  leave- 
train  of  men  which  had  halted  and  was  flying  the  red 
flag.    Immediately  afterwards,  from  the  open  and 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  277 

the  broken  windows  my  ears  were  greeted  with  the 
stupid  cries  of  "Lights  out!  Knives  out!"  which 
formed  a  sort  of  watchword  and  slogan  for  all  the 
hooligans  and  malcontents  of  that  period. 

I  stopped  my  car  and,  accompanied  by  Zobeltitz, 
walked  up  to  the  train.  I  ordered  the  men  to  alight, 
which  they  at  once  did.  There  may  have  been  five 
or  six  hundred  of  them — a  rather  villainous-looking 
crowd,  mostly  Bavarians  from  Flanders.  In  front 
of  me  stood  a  very  lamp-post  of  a  Bavarian  ser- 
geant. With  his  hands  thrust  deep  into  his  trou- 
sers* pockets  and  displaying  altogether  a  most  pro- 
vocative air,  he  was  the  very  picture  of  insubordina- 
tion. I  rated  him  and  told  him  to  assume  at  once 
a  more  becoming  deportment,  such  as  was  proper  to 
a  German  soldier.  The  effect  was  instantaneous. 
The  men  began  to  press  towards  us,  and  I  addressed 
them  in  urgent  tones,  endeavoring  to  touch  their 
sense  of  honor. 

Even  while  I  was  speaking,  I  could  see  that  I 
had  won  the  contest.  In  the  end,  a  mere  lad  of, 
perhaps,  seventeen  years,  a  Saxon  with  a  frank 
boyish  face  and  decorated  with  the  iron  cross, 
stepped  forward  and  said:  "Herr  Kronprinz,  don't 
take  it  ill;  they  are  only  silly  phrases;  we  mean 
nothing  by  them;  we  all  like  you  and  we  know  that 
you  always  look  after  your  soldiers  well.  You  see, 
we  have  been  travelling  now  for  three  days  and  have 
received  no  food  or  attention  the  whole  time.    No 


278    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

one  troubles  about  us,  and  there  are  no  officers 
whatever  with  us.  Don't  be  angry  with  us."  A 
general  murmur  of  applause  followed.  I  gave  the 
lad  my  hand  and  then  followed  a  comic  close  to  the 
affair.  The  lad  said:  "We  know  you  always  have 
cigarettes  for  good  soldiers;  we've  nothing  left  to 
smoke."  I  gave  the  men  what  cigarettes  I  had;  al- 
though these  "good  soldiers"  really  did  not  deserve 
them;  I  did  it  simply  because  I  appreciated  their  con- 
dition, which  certainly  was  in  part  responsible  for 
their  nonsense;  I  felt  clearly  that,  if  everything  be- 
hind the  lines  and  at  home  were  not  out  of  joint, 
these  men  would  have  followed  the  right  path. 

I  narrate  this  episode  of  November  7  merely  to 
show  on  what  a  weak  footing  the  movement  largely 
stood;  it  was  fanned  into  flame  by  violent  agitation; 
and,  as  the  above  incident  proves,  a  calm  and  reso- 
lute attitude  did  not  miss  its  object  with  the  men, 
who  were,  on  the  whole,  not  fundamentally  bad. 
Unfortunately,  there  was  a  complete  lack  of  deter- 
mined action  on  the  part  of  the  home  authorities, 
both  civil  and  military.  By  the  orders  against  shoot- 
ing, the  road  was  paved  for  the  revolution. 

Concerning  the  behavior  of  the  troops  in  those 
days,  it  should  be  said  that,  despite  the  months  of 
struggle  that  they  had  gone  through,  they  carried  on 
their  retreat  in  perfect  order  and,  in  the  main,  with- 
out any  important  interference  from  the  enemy,  who 
followed   hesitatingly.    The  prospect  of  the  new 


THE  GREAT  COLLAPSE  279 

Meuse  position,  with  its  natural  strength  artificially 
increased,  seemed  to  give  the  troops  great  encourage- 
ment as  to  the  future. 

One  episode  remains  to  be  recorded.  On  the 
sixth,  the  negotiators  despatched  by  the  German 
Government  crossed  the  road  between  La  Capelle 
and  Guise  within  the  area  of  the  XVIII  Army. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SCENES  AT  SPA 

End  of  April,  1921. 

It  is  almost  two  months  since  I  wrote  the  last  of 
the  above  lines.  As  often  as  I  have  prepared  my- 
self to  record  those  last  and  bitterest  experiences, 
which  have  occupied  my  thoughts  a  thousand  times, 
there  has  come  over  me  a  revulsion  from  the  torture 
of  recalling  the  still  fresh  sorrows.  Moreover,  other 
cares  and  other  griefs  have  kept  me  away  from  these 
pages. 

At  the  end  of  February  I  was  at  Doom;  on  the 
twenty-seventh  my  parents  celebrated  the  forti- 
eth anniversary  of  their  wedding-day.  Celebrated? 
No,  it  was  not  a  celebration.  Everything  in  the 
beautiful  and  well-kept  house  was  sad  and  depressed. 
My  mother  was  confined  to  her  couch,  and  her 
weakness  permitted  her  only  occasional  hours  of 
waking.  She  was  so  feeble  that  she  could  scarcely 
speak;  and  yet  the  slightest  attention  was  received 
with  "Thank  you,  my  dear  boy";  and  then  she 
gently  stroked  my  hand.  It  made  one  grind  one's 
teeth  together.  The  foreboding  that,  on  that  day, 
I  held  her  in  my  arms  for  the  last  time  has  never 
since  left  me. 

All  subsequent  reports  damped  every  hope  of  re- 

280 


SCENES  AT  SPA  281 

covery.  One  could  only  pray:  "Lord,  let  it  not  last 
long !  **  In  six  weeks'  time  the  last  sad  news  reached 
me  on  the  island. 

We  went  to  Doom;  and  during  all  the  long  hours 
of  the  journey,  I  was  unable  to  grasp  the  idea  that 
she  would  no  more  speak  to  me,  that  her  kind  eyes 
would  no  more  be  turned  upon  me.  She  was  the 
magnet  which  attracted  us  children,  wherever  we 
might  be,  towards  the  parental  home.  She  knew  all 
our  wishes,  our  hopes,  our  cares.  Now  she  had  been 
taken  from  us  forever. 

Changed,  empty,  strange  appeared  to  me  park 
and  house  and  everything. 

My  poor  father !  Whatever  his  outward  demeanor, 
I  knew  that  his  inmost  heart  was  shaken.  His  old 
pride,  his  determination  not  to  allow  others  to  see 
his  emotion,  his  resolve  to  comport  himself  like  a 
king,  supported  him  so  long  as  we  and  other  people 
were  present.    But  the  solitude ! 

That  night  I  was  alone  with  my  beloved  mother 
for  the  last  time.  Through  the  hours  of  darkness  I 
kept  a  long  vigil  beside  her  coffin.  In  that  solemn, 
quiet  chamber,  with  its  heavy  odors  of  wreaths  and 
flowers  and  soft  shine  of  the  burning  tapers,  there 
floated  before  my  memory  an  endless  procession  of 
pictures  out  of  the  past. 

Her  joy  when  I  reported  to  her  as  a  ten-year-old 
lieutenant,  and  the  parade  went  off  all  right  not- 
withstanding the  shortness  of  my  legs  and  the  diffi- 


282    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

culty  I  had  of  keeping  step  with  the  long-limbed 
grenadiers. 

Her  beaming  face  when  she  held  my  bride  in  her 
arms  for  the  first  time  and  said:  **My  dear  boy,  you 
have  made  a  good  choice";  from  that  day  onward 
till  the  end,  a  great  love  knitted  together  the  two 
women. 

I  saw  her  sitting  at  the  bedside  of  my  brothers 
Fritz  and  Joachim  during  a  severe  illness — night 
after  night  untiringly — a  devoted  nurse,  a  mother 
who  would  have  immolated  her  own  self. 

I  saw  her  at  court  festivities,  in  all  the  splendor  of 
the  crown — a  tall  and  noble  figure  with  a  wealth  of 
prematurely  gray  hair  above  the  fresh,  kind  face; 
while  every  word  showed  a  simple,  generous  nature 
with  the  gift  of  attracting  and  understanding  others. 

Then,  ever  and  again,  in  her  writing-room  at  the 
New  Palace. — It  is  in  the  interval  between  my 
morning  and  afternoon  duties.  I  have  ridden  over 
to  the  palace,  and  now,  while  she  listens  and  replies, 
I  walk  up  and  down  before  her.  She  is  my  confessor 
who  always  finds  the  right  advice  and  the  best  solu- 
tion of  all  my  little  difficulties;  and  in  the  heart  of 
that  seemingly  unpolitical  woman,  there  was  vast 
room  for  the  serious  problems  and  for  the  greatness 
of  the  entire  Fatherland.  Her  clear  recognition  of 
many  an  error  caused  her  to  suffer — in  a  quiet,  hid- 
den way — far  more  anxiety  than  the  outside  world 
ever  imagined. 


THE   CROWN   PRINCE   AND    CROWN  PRINCESS  AT  WIERINGEN 


SCENES  AT  SPA  283 

Then  the  war-time — care  upon  care,  care  upon 
care. 

And  then  all  that  followed. 

I  see  her  there  in  the  garden  of  Doom  House. 
She  is  seated  in  a  little  pony-carriage;  and  I  hold 
her  hand  and  walk  beside  her.  "My  boy,"  she 
says,  **yes,  it  is  beautiful  here,  but  oh!  it  is  not  my 
Potsdam,  the  New  Palace,  my  little  rose-garden, 
our  home.  If  you  only  knew  how  homesickness 
often  gnaws  at  me.  Oh,  I  shall  never  see  my  home 
again." 

Now  she  rests  in  the  homeland  earth  to  which 
her  last  longings  went  forth. 

Just  a  bit  of  the  way  (as  far  as  Maam  Station) 
I  accompanied  her  on  her  homeward  journey; 
then  I  turned  back  to  my  island  here. 

Days  of  sadness  succeeded;  not  an  hour  passed  in 
which  my  thoughts  were  not  with  her;  but  what 
was  told  me  in  a  thousand  letters  of  how  unfor- 
gotten  she  was  in  the  homeland,  of  the  love  that 
had  sprung  up  from  the  seed  which  she  had  sown, 
that,  at  least,  was  a  great  comfort  to  me.  Then, 
too,  my  brother-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
was  with  me  for  a  few  days.  Sissy  is  to  remain 
for  the  present  at  Doom,  so  as  to  lighten  my  father's 
sorrow  in  the  first  great  loneliness  and  to  bring  a 
woman's  voice  into  that  beautiful  and  yet  so  friend- 
less house. 

But  I  must  now  proceed  to  chronicle  what  I 


284    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

have  to  say  concerning  that  last  and  bitterest  ex- 
perience of  the  breakdown.  God  knows  it  is  more 
difficult  for  me  than  all  that  I  have  recorded  hith- 
erto. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  November,  1918, 
I  received  at  Waulsort  an  unexpected  command 
from  His  Majesty  to  report  myself  to  him  next 
morning  at  Spa.  Not  a  word  as  to  what  it  con- 
cerned or  what  he  wanted  of  me. — I  had  only  the 
knowledge  that  this  summons  could  not  portend 
anything  good  and  a  foreboding  of  fresh  agonizing 
conflicts. 

In  cold,  gloomy  weather,  I  motored  through  a 
heavy  fog  that  seemed  to  choke  the  whole  country- 
side. Everything  apathetic,  comfortless,  dreary  and 
devastated;  the  half-demolished  houses,  their  plaster 
crumbling  from  their  damaged  walls;  the  intermi- 
nable roads,  ground  by  the  violent  jerkings  of  a 
hundred  thousand  wheels  and  pounded  by  the  iron- 
shod  hoofs  of  a  hundred  thousand  horses.  And 
those  wan,  haggard  faces,  so  full  of  bitterness  and 
sorrow  and  misery,  as  though  their  owners  would 
never  again  be  able  to  win  through  to  fresh  faith 
in  life. 

The  car  jolted  through  fields  of  mud,  flinging  the 
brown  mire  about  it  in  huge  fountains;  it  rushed 
heedlessly  past  columns  of  weary  soldiers  and 
troops  and  groups  of  men  who  once  had  been  soldiers 
and  who,  now  disbanded,  trudged  their  way  laden 


SCENES  AT  SPA  285 

with  indistinguishable  chattels;  it  left  behind  it 
curses  and  cries  and  fists  raised  in  the  gray  mist. 

On  and  on. 

Soon  after  midday  we  arrived  at  Spa,  stiff  and 
frozen  to  the  marrow. 

The  Kaiser  was  lodged  in  Villa  Fraineuse  just 
outside  the  town. 

General  von  Gontard,  the  court  marshal,  re- 
ceived me  in  the  hall.  His  face  wore  a  serious  and 
very  anxious  look.  In  reply  to  my  questions,  all 
he  did  was  helplessly  to  raise  his  hands;  but  the 
action  said  more  than  any  words  could  have  done. 

My  chief  of  staff,  Count  Schulenburg,  was  there. 
He  had  been  in  Spa  since  the  early  morning,  and,  un- 
til my  arrival,  had  been  advocating  our  views  with 
the  Kaiser.  Pale  and  manifestly  much  moved, 
this  strong  man,  with  a  keen  sense  of  responsibility 
and  fine  fidelity  to  his  sovereign,  proceeded,  rapidly 
and  in  brief  soldierly  words,  to  give  me  an  out- 
line of  the  incidents  into  whose  development  we 
were  now  being  dragged  and  urgently  to  beg  me  to 
do  everything  to  deter  His  Majesty  from  overhasty 
and  irretrievable  decisions. 

According  to  Schulenburg's  report,  the  course  of 
events  so  far  had  been  as  follows: 

In  the  early  morning,  my  father  had  thoroughly 
discussed  the  situation  with  Major  Niemann,  the 
officer  of  his  General  Staff,  and  had  resolved  boldly 
to  face  the  threatening  revolution.    With  this  firm 


286    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

resolve,  the  Kaiser  had  participated  in  a  discussion 
at  which  the  field-marshal  general,  with  General 
Groner,  Plessen,  His  Excellency  Marshal  von 
Hintze,  Herr  von  Griinau  and  Major  Niemann  were 
present.  The  field-marshal  general  had  opened  the 
deliberations  with  a  few  words  which  clearly  re- 
vealed that  he  was  on  the  point  of  giving  up  every- 
thing: he  must  first  ask  His  Majesty  to  permit  him 
to  resign,  since  what  he  had  to  say  could,  he  felt, 
not  be  said  by  a  Prussian  officer  to  his  King  and  lord. 

Only  the  Kaiser's  head  twitched.  First  let  us 
hear  what  it  is. 

Then  General  Groner  had  spoken.  As  Schulen- 
burg  sketched  things,  I  could  see  and  hear  Groner — 
Groner  the  new  man  who  had  been  only  a  fortnight 
in  the  place  vacated  by  Ludendorff,  and  was  ham- 
pered by  no  such  considerations  as  those  which 
choked  the  words  in  the  throat  of  the  old  field- 
marshal  general.  A  new  tone,  which  brusquely  and 
aggressively  broke  away  from  all  tradition,  which 
endeavored,  by  despising  the  past,  to  gain  inward 
strength  for  the  coming  death-blow. 

General  Groner's  words  as  reported  to  me  by 
Schulenburg,  had  they  been  the  ultimate  truth, 
would  indeed  have  signified  the  end:  the  military 
position  of  the  armies  desperate;  the  troops  waver- 
ing and  unreliable,  with  rations  for  a  few  days  only 
and  with  hunger,  dissolution  and  pillage  threatening 
to  follow  after;  the  homeland  blazing  up  in  inextin- 


SCENES  AT  SPA  287 

guishable  revolution;  the  reserves  available,  refrac- 
tory, disintegrating  and  rushing  to  the  red  flag;  the 
whole  hinterland,  railways,  telegraphs,  Rhine  bridges, 
depots  and  junctions  in  the  hands  of  the  revolution- 
aries; Berlin  at  the  highest  pitch  of  tension  which, 
at  any  moment,  might  snap  and  bathe  the  city  in 
blood;  to  turn  the  army  upon  the  civil  war  at  home 
with  the  enemy  in  the  rear  would  be  quite  impossi- 
ble. These  views  of  his  and  the  field-marshal  gen- 
eral's had  been  indorsed  by  the  divisional  chiefs 
and  by  most  of  the  representatives  of  the  General 
Higher  Command.  Although  not  expressly,  this 
report  contained  implicitly  a  demand  for  my  father's 
abdication. 

Speechless  and  deeply  moved,  my  father  had 
listened  to  these  deplorably  gloomy  statements.  A 
benumbing  silence  followed.  Then,  seeing  from  a 
movement  on  the  part  of  my  chief  of  staff  that  he 
wished  to  be  heard,  the  Kaiser  sprang  up  and  said: 
— "Speak,  Count! — Your  opinion?" 
My  chief  of  staff  had  replied  as  follows: — 
That  he  could  not  regard  the  remarks  of  the 
quartermaster-general  as  a  true  description  of  the 
state  of  affairs.  For  example,  the  Army  Group  of 
the  Crown  Prince,  despite  great  difficulties  and  hard- 
ships, had  fought  brilliantly  through  the  long  autumn 
campaign  and  was  still  firm  and  unbroken  in  the 
hands  of  its  leaders.  After  its  enormous  efforts,  it 
was  now  exhausted,  overtaxed  and  filled  with  the 


288    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

desire  for  repose.  If  a  definite  armistice  should 
come  about,  if  the  troops  were  granted  a  few  days* 
rest,  the  refreshment  of  sleep  and  tolerable  rations, 
if  the  leaders  were  given  a  chance  to  come  once 
more  into  closer  touch  with  the  men  and  to  exer- 
cise influence  over  them,  then  the  general  frame  of 
mind  would  improve.  It  would,  indeed,  be  quite 
impossible  to  wheel  round  the  troops  of  the  whole 
west  front  to  face  civil  war  in  Germany;  but  this 
was  not  within  the  limits  of  necessity.  What  was 
needed  was  resolute  and  manly  resistance  to  ac- 
tivities which  had  unfortunately  been  allowed  free 
play  much  too  long,  the  immediate  and  energetic 
suppression  of  the  insurgents  at  the  centres  of  the 
movement,  the  rigorous  re-establishment  of  order 
and  authority ! — ^The  question  of  rationing  had  been 
depicted  by  General  Groner  in  much  too  sombre 
tints;  the  effects  of  energetic  proceedings  against 
the  Bolshevists  in  the  rear  of  the  army  would  be  a 
fresh  rally  of  the  loyal  elements  in  the  country  and 
the  smothering  of  the  revolutionary  movement. 
Hence  there  should  be  no  yielding  to  the  threats  of 
criminal  violence,  no  abdication,  but  no  civil  war 
either — only  the  armed  restitution  of  order  at  the 
spots  indicated.  For  this  purpose  the  mass  of  the 
troops  would,  without  question,  stand  loyally  by 
their  Kaiser. 

The  Kaiser  had  accepted  this  view.    Consequently, 
opposition  had  arisen  between  my  chief  of  staff  and 


SCENES  AT  SPA  289 

General  Groner,  who,  in  the  course  of  this  discussion, 
had  persisted  in  his  assertions  that  events  had  gone 
too  far  for  the  measures  proposed  by  Schulenburg 
to  stand  any  chance  of  success.  According  to  his 
rendering,  the  ramifications  of  the  insurgents  cov- 
ered the  entire  homeland,  the  revolutionaries  would 
indubitably  cut  off  all  supplies  intended  for  any 
army  operating  against  them,  and,  moreover,  the 
army  was  no  longer  reliable,  nor  did  it  any  longer 
support  the  Kaiser. 

The  views  put  forward  by  General  Groner  found 
a  certain  confirmation  in  manifold  telephonic  mes- 
sages which  arrived  from  the  Imperial  Chancery 
during  the  discussion;  these  reported  sanguinary 
street  fighting  and  the  defection  of  the  home  troops 
to  the  ranks  of  the  revolutionaries,  and  repeatedly 
demanded  abdication.  They  evidently  proceeded 
from  a  state  of  panic;  and,  on  account  of  their  ur- 
gent character,  made  a  deep  impression;  but  to 
what  extent  they  were  founded  upon  fact  could 
not  be  tested. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  the  Kaiser  had  stood  resolutely 
by  his  original  decision.  But,  in  face  of  the  irrec- 
oncilable opposition  between  the  two  views  of  the 
situation  and  the  logical  conclusions  involved,  he  had 
ultimately  turned  to  General  Groner  and  declared 
with  great  firmness  that,  in  this  exceedingly  grave 
matter,  he  could  not  acquiesce  in  the  opinion  expressed 
by  the  general  but  must  insist  upon  a  written  state- 


290    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

ment  signed  by  the  field-marshal  general,  von  Hinden- 
burg,  and  by  General  Groner — a  statement  based 
upon  the  judgments  to  be  obtained  from  all  the  army 
leaders  of  the  west  front.  The  notion  of  waging  a 
civil  war  lay  outside  the  scope  of  his  consideration; 
but  he  held  firmly  to  his  desire  to  lead  the  army  back 
home  in  good  order  after  the  conclusion  of  the  armi- 
stice. 

General  Groner  had  then  adopted  an  attitude 
which  seemed  to  indicate  that  he  regarded  all  further 
discussion  as  a  vain  loss  of  time  in  face  of  a  definitely 
fixed  programme;  he  had  brusquely  and  slightingly 
confined  himself  to  remarking:  "The  army  will 
march  back  home  in  good  order  under  its  leaders 
and  commanding  generals,  but  not  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Your  Majesty." 

In  reply  to  the  agitated  question  of  my  father: 
"How  do  you  come  to  make  such  a  report?  Count 
Schulenburg  reports  the  reserve!"  Groner  said:  "I 
have  different  information."* 


*  It  must  be  recorded  here  that  General  Groner  made  this  report  to 
my  father  long  before  the  vote  had  been  placed  before  the  commanders  at 
the  front.  What  "other  information,"  then,  did  the  first  quartermaster- 
general  possess,  and  from  which  leader  of  the  west  front  did  it  proceed? 
These  questions  still  remain  unanswered.  From  none  of  the  four  armies 
placed  in  my  charge  did  I  ever  receive  any  report  which  could  justify 
General  Groner's  conclusion  in  regard  to  the  front  or  even  concerning  the 
rear  of  my  armies.  The  information  referred  to  by  General  Groner  he 
must  have  received  on  the  7th  or  8th  of  November,  for  at  Charleville  he 
was  still  in  good  spirits,  on  the  5th  he  had  ardently  taken  the  part  of  the 
Kaiser,  and  on  the  6th  the  Gen.  Higher  Command  wrote  to  the  armies  on 
the  west  front  that,  for  the  armies,  there  was  no  Kaiser  question  and  that, 
true  to  their  oath,  they  stood  immutably  loyal  to  their  Chief  War  Lord. 


SCENES  AT  SPA  291 

In  response  to  a  further  protest  by  my  chief  of 
staff,  the  field-marshal  general  had  finally  relin- 
quished his  attitude  of  reserve.  With  every  respect 
for  the  spirit  of  soldierly  loyalty  displayed  in  Schu- 
lenburg's  views,  he  had  come  to  the  practical  conclu- 
sion of  General  Groner,  namely,  that,  on  the  basis  of 
the  information  received  by  the  Higher  Command 
from  home  and  from  the  armies,  it  must  be  assumed 
that  the  revolution  could  no  longer  be  suppressed. 
Like  Groner,  he  too,  was  unable  to  take  upon  himself 
responsibility  for  the  trustworthiness  of  the  troops. 

Finally,  the  Kaiser  had  closed  the  discussion  with 
a  repetition  of  his  desire  that  the  commanders-in- 
chief  be  asked  for  their  views.  "If  you  report  to 
me,"  he  said,  "that  the  army  is  no  longer  loyal  to 
me,  I  shall  be  prepared  to  go — but  not  till  then !" 

From  these  discussions  and  decisions  it  was  clear 
that  the  Kaiser  was  willing  to  sacrifice  his  person 
to  the  interests  of  the  German  people  and  to  the 
maintenance  of  internal  and  external  possibilities  of 
peace. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  parley.  Count  Schulenburg 
had  called  particular  attention  to  the  fact  that,  in  any 
decisions  of  the  Kaiser*s,  questions  concerning  the 
Imperial  Crown  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from 
those  of  the  Prussian  royal  throne.  At  the  very 
most,  only  an  abdication  of  the  Kaiser  could  be  con- 
sidered; there  was  no  need  even  at  the  worst  of  any 
talk  of  a  renunciation  of  the  throne  of  Prussia.    For 


292    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

this  standpoint  he  had  propounded  important  rea- 
sons; and  he  had  also  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
alarming  telephonic  messages  from  Berlin  needed 
careful  investigation  before  they  could  be  made  the 
basis  of  any  resolve. 

My  father  had  assured  him  that,  in  any  circum- 
stances, he  would  remain  King  of  Prussia  and  that, 
as  such,  he  would  not  desert  the  army.  Further- 
more, he  had  at  once  ordered  that  an  immediate  tele- 
phonic inquiry  be  made  to  the  Governor  of  Berlin 
concerning  the  situation  there;  he  had  then  walked 
into  the  garden  accompanied  by  some  of  the  gentle- 
men of  his  suite;  while  the  field-marshal  general, 
General  Groner  and  Count  von  Schulenburg  had 
remained  behind  in  the  council  room.  In  the  en- 
suing discussion  on  the  last  statements  of  Schulen- 
burg, the  field-marshal  general  confessed  to  the 
opinion  that  the  Kaiser  must,  in  all  circumstances, 
maintain  himself  as  King  of  Prussia,  whereas  Gen- 
eral Groner  remained  sceptical  of  this  and  averse  to 
such  a  claim.  He  stated  that  a  free  decision  to  this 
effect  if  taken  by  the  Kaiser  some  weeks  earlier 
might  perhaps  have  effected  a  change  in  the  situa- 
tion; but  that,  in  his  opinion,  it  now  came  too  late 
to  be  of  any  value  in  combating  the  revolt  now  blaz- 
ing in  Germany  and  spreading  rapidly  every  moment. 

What  had  followed  next  had  seemingly  been  cal- 
culated to  justify  this  view  of  General  Groner's — 
if  it  could  be  accepted  as  the  actual  truth  concern- 


SCENES  AT  SPA  293 

ing  the  situation  and  the  frame  of  mind  in  the 
homeland: 

The  answer  of  the  chief  of  the  general  staff  with 
the  Berlin  Government,  Colonel  von  Berge,  had 
arrived  and  had  brought  a  confirmation  (albeit  a 
qualified  one)  of  the  representations  furnished  by 
the  Imperial  Chancery — bloody  street-fighting,  de- 
sertion of  the  troops  to  the  revolutionaries,  no  sort 
of  means  in  the  hands  of  the  Government  for  com- 
bating the  movement;  furthermore,  an  appeal  by 
Prince  Max  of  Baden  stating  that  civil  war  was 
inevitable  unless  His  Majesty  announced  his  ab- 
dication within  the  next  few  minutes. 

With  these  messages,  the  field-marshal  general, 
General  Groner  and  His  Excellency  von  Hintze  had 
hurried  into  the  garden  and  were  now  reporting  the 
matter  to  the  Kaiser,  while  Count  von  der  Schulen- 
burg  was  explaining  the  situation  to  me. 

I  now  went  with  my  chief  of  staff  to  join  the 
Kaiser. 

He  stood  in  the  garden  surrounded  by  a  group  of 
gentlemen. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  picture  of  that  half-score 
of  men  in  their  gray  uniforms,  thrown  into  relief 
by  the  withered  and  faded  flower-beds  of  ending 
autumn,  and  framed  by  the  surrounding  mist-man- 
tled hills  with  their  glorious  foliage  of  vanishing 
green  and  every  shade  of  brown,  of  yellow  and  of 
red. 


294    MExMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

The  Kaiser  stood  there  as  though  he  had  suddenly- 
halted  in  his  agitated  pacing  up  and  down.  Pas- 
sionately excited,  he  addressed  himself  to  those  near 
him  with  violently  expressive  gestures.  His  eyes 
were  upon  General  Groner  and  His  Excellency  von 
Hintze;  but  a  glance  was  cast  now  and  then  at  the 
field-marshal  general,  who,  with  his  gaze  fixed  on 
the  distance,  nodded  silently;  and  an  occasional 
look  was  also  turned  towards  the  white-haired  Gen- 
eral von  Plessen.  Somewhat  aloof  from  the  group, 
stood  General  von  Marschall,  the  Legation  Coun- 
cillor von  Griinau  and  Major  von  Hirschfeld. 

With  their  bowed  attitudes,  most  of  the  men 
seemed  oppressed  by  the  thought  that  there  was  no 
egress  from  their  entanglement — seemed,  while  the 
Kaiser  alone  spoke,  to  have  been  paralyzed  into 
muteness. 

Catching  sight  of  me,  my  father  beckoned  me  to 
approach  and,  himself,  came  forward  a  few  paces. 

And  now,  as  I  stood  opposite  him,  I  saw  clearly 
how  distraught  were  his  features — how  his  emaciated 
and  sallowed  face  twitched  and  winced. 

He  left  me  scarcely  time  to  greet  the  field-marshal 
general  and  the  rest;  hastily  he  addressed  himself  to 
me,  and,  while  the  others  retired  a  little  and  General 
Groner  returned  to  the  house,  he  burst  upon  me 
with  all  he  had  to  say. 

He  poured  out  to  me  the  facts  without  the  slight- 
est reserve,  reiterated  much  of  what  Schulenburg  had 


SCENES  AT  SPA  295 

reported  just  before,  supplemented  the  particulars, 
and  gave  me  a  deeper  insight  into  the  character  of 
the  catastrophe  threatening  to  spring  from  the  insta- 
bility and  the  disintegration  of  will  and  energy. 
Only  just  arrived  from  my  Army  Group  and  the 
seclusion  of  the  front,  and  while  I  was  still  endeavor- 
ing to  grasp  and  master  all  that  Schulenburg  had 
told  me,  I  now  learned  that,  the  previous  evening,  be- 
fore he  called  me  to  Spa,  a  thorough  consultation 
had  taken  place  concerning  the  situation,  in  which 
General  Groner  had  urgently  dissuaded  the  Kaiser 
from  returning  home — from  attempting  "to  pene- 
trate into  the  interior."  Insurrectionary  masses 
were  on  their  way  to  Verviers  and  Spa,  and  there 
were  no  longer  any  trustworthy  troops  whatever! 
Nor,  said  he,  durst  my  father  proceed  to  the  front 
with  any  such  intention  as  to  die  fighting;  in  view 
of  the  approaching  armistice,  such  a  step  might  give 
rise  to  false  deductions  on  the  part  of  the  Entente, 
and  thus  cause  even  greater  mischief  and  still  fur- 
ther bloodshed.  My  father  also  informed  me  that, 
according  to  the  statements  of  these  gentlemen,  the 
cities  of  Cologne,  Hanover,  Brunswick  and  Munich 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Councils,  while  in  Kiel  and  Wilhelmshafen  the  revo- 
lution had  broken  out,  and  that,  in  view  of  the  ap- 
parent necessity  for  his  abdication  as  Kaiser,  he  was 
going  to  transfer  to  the  field-marshal  general  the 
chief  command  of  the  German  army. 


296    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Notwithstanding  my  great  perturbation,  I  at  once 
tried  to  intervene  and  to  check,  wherever,  in  my 
opinion,  it  appeared  possible,  despite  the  hitherto 
precipitate  course  of  events,  to  call  a  halt,  and  wher- 
ever a  halt  was  essential,  unless  everything  were  to 
be  lost.  Even  if  the  abdication  of  the  Kaiser  as 
such  were  really  no  longer  to  be  avoided,  his  king- 
ship of  Prussia  must,  at  any  rate,  remain  im- 
shaken. 

"Of  course!"  The  words  were  uttered  in  such  a 
matter-of-fact  way  and  his  eyes  were  so  firmly  fixed 
on  mine  that  much  appeared  to  me  to  have  been 
gained  already. 

I  also  emphasized  the  necessity  for  his  remaining 
with  the  army  in  all  circumstances,  and  I  sug- 
gested his  coming  with  me  and  marching  back  at 
the  head  of  my  troops. 

General  Groner  now  joined  the  other  group  again, 
accompanied  by  Colonel  Heye,  who,  as  I  learned, 
had  come  from  a  conference  of  front  officers  con- 
voked as  a  sort  of  council  by  the  Higher  Command 
without  consulting  the  chief  commanders  of  the 
army  or  the  army  groups,  the  vote  of  this  council 
being  taken  by  Groner  to  be  decisive. 

In  reply  to  the  Kaiser's  command.  Colonel  Heye 
reported  to  the  following  effect:  The  question  had 
been  put  to  the  commanders  whether,  in  the  event 
of  a  civil  war  in  the  homeland,  the  troops  could  be 
relied  upon;  the  answer  was  in  the  negative;  the 


SCENES  AT  SPA  297 

trustworthiness  of  the  troops  had  not  been  uncondi- 
tionally guaranteed  by  certain  of  these  gentlemen. 

Count  von  der  Schulenburg  intervened.  He  ad- 
duced what  we,  who  were  familiar  with  our  men, 
knew  from  personal  experience;  above  all,  this  one 
thing,  that  the  great  majority  of  the  army,  if  faced 
with  the  question  whether  they  would  break  their 
oaths  and  desert  their  sovereign  and  Chief  War  Lord 
in  the  time  of  need,  would  certainly  prove  true  to 
their  Kaiser. 

At  this.  General  Groner  merely  shrugged  his 
shoulders  and  sneered  superciliously,  "Military 
oaths?  War  Lords?  Those  are,  after  all,  only 
words;  those  are,  when  all  is  said,  mere  ideas." 

Here  were  two  systems  which  no  bridge  could 
join,  two  conceptions  which  no  mutual  comprehen- 
sion could  reconcile.  The  one  was  the  Prussian  offi- 
cer, loyal  in  his  duty  and  devotion  to  Kaiser  and  to 
King,  ready  to  live  and  die  in  the  fulfilment  of  the 
oath  which  he  had  taken  as  a  young  man;  the  other, 
the  man  who  doubtless  never  had  taken  things  so  ear- 
nestly or  with  such  a  sense  of  sacred  obligation,  who 
had  regarded  them  rather  as  symbol  and  "idea," 
who  was  always  desirous  of  being  "modem"  and 
whose  more  supple  mentality  now  freed  itself  with- 
out any  difficulty  from  engagements  which  threat- 
ened to  become  awkward. 

Once  more  Schulenburg  replied,  telling  the  general 
that  such  statements  as  his  only  showed  that  he  did 


298    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

not  know  the  heart  and  mind  of  the  men  at  the  front, 
that  the  army  was  true  to  its  oath  and  that,  at  the 
end  of  those  four  years  of  war,  it  would  not  abandon 
its  Kaiser. 

He  was  still  speaking,  when  he  was  interrupted  by 
His  Excellency  von  Hintze,  who  had  meantime  re- 
ceived further  reports  from  Berlin  and  wished  to  lay 
the  evil  tidings  before  the  Kaiser.  The  Imperial 
Chancellor,  Prince  Max,  he  said,  tendered  his  resig- 
nation and  reported  that  the  situation  had  become 
so  extremely  menacing  in  Berlin  that  the  monarchy 
could  no  longer  be  saved  unless  the  Kaiser  resolved 
upon  immediate  abdication. 

The  Kaiser  received  the  news  with  grave  silence. 
His  firmly  compressed  lips  were  colorless;  his  face 
was  livid  and  had  aged  by  years.  Only  those  who 
knew  him  as  I  did  could  penetrate  that  mask  of 
calmness  and  self-control  maintained  with  such  an 
effort  in  spite  of  the  impatiently  urgent  demand  of 
the  chancellor. 

When  Hintze  had  finished,  he  gave  a  brief  nod; 
and  his  eyes  sought  those  of  the  field-marshal  gen- 
eral as  though  searching  them  for  strength  and  suc- 
cor in  his  anguish.  But  he  found  nothing.  Motion- 
less, deeply  touched,  silenced  by  despair,  the  great 
old  man  stood  paralyzed,  while  his  King  and  lord, 
whom  he  had  served  so  long  and  so  faithfully  as  a 
soldier,  moved  on  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  destiny. 

The  Kaiser  was  alone.    Not  one  of  all  the  men  of 


SCENES  AT  SPA  299 

the  General  Higher  Command,  not  one  of  the  men 
whom  Ludendorff  had  once  welded  into  a  firm  en- 
tity, hastened  to  his  assistance.  Here,  as  at  home, 
disruption  and  decay.  Here,  where  an  iron  will 
should  have  been  busy  enforcing  itself  in  all  the  posi- 
tions of  authority  and  gathering  all  the  reliable  forces 
at  the  front  to  make  itself  effective,  there  was  only 
one  vast  void.  The  spirit  of  General  Groner  was 
now  dominant,  and  that  spirit  left  the  Kaiser  to  his 
fate. 

Hoarse,  strange  and  unreal  was  my  father's  voice 
as  he  instructed  Hintze,  who  was  still  waiting,  to 
telephone  the  Imperial  Chancellor  that  he  was  pre- 
pared to  renounce  the  Imperial  Crown,  if  thereby 
alone  general  civil  war  in  Germany  were  to  be 
avoided,  but  that  he  remained  King  of  Prussia  and 
would  not  leave  his  army. 

The  gentlemen  were  silent.  The  state  secretary 
was  about  to  depart,  when  Schulenburg  pointed  out 
that  it  was,  in  any  case,  essential  first  to  make  a 
written  record  of  this  highly  significant  decision  of 
His  Majesty.  Not  until  such  a  document  had  been 
ratified  and  signed  could  it  be  communicated  to  the 
Imperial  Chancellor. 

The  Kaiser  expressed  his  thanks.  Yes,  he  said, 
that  was  true;  and  he  instructed  Lieutenant-General 
von  Plessen,  General  von  Marschall,  His  Excellency 
von  Hintze  and  Count  von  der  Schulenburg  to  draw 
up  the  declaration  and  submit  it  to  him  for  signature. 


300    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

We  therefore  went  indoors  again. 

While  the  gentlemen  were  still  at  work  on  the 
document,  there  came  another  telephone  call  from 
Berlin.  The  chef  of  the  Imperial  Chancery,  His  Ex- 
cellency von  Wahnschaffe,  asked  urgently  for  the 
declaration  of  abdication;  he  was  informed  by  Count 
von  der  Schulenburg  that  the  decision  already  come 
to  by  His  Majesty  was  being  formulated  and  would 
be  forthwith  despatched  to  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment. 

The  document  did  not  contain  the  abdication  of  the 
Kaiser,  but  expressed  his  willingness  to  abdicate  if 
thereby  alone  further  bloodshed  and,  above  all,  civil 
war  would  be  avoided.  It  also  stressed  the  fact 
that  he  remained  King  of  Pmssia  and  would  lead 
the  troops  back  home  in  perfect  order. 

On  the  basis  of  this  decision,  there  lay  upon  the 
chancellor  the  onus  of  reporting  afresh  concerning 
the  development  of  the  situation  at  home.  Then, 
and  not  before,  the  final  imperial  decision  would 
have  followed. 

His  Excellency  von  Hintze  undertook  to  telephone 
the  wording  of  the  document  to  the  Imperial  Chan- 
cery. 

It  was  now  one  o'clock,  and  we  proceeded  to  lunch. 
That  silent  meal,  in  a  bright,  white  room  whose 
table  was  decked  with  flowers  but  surrounded  only 
by  bitter  anguish  and  despairing  grief,  is  among 
the  most  horrible  of  my  recollections.    Not  one  of 


! 


SCENES  AT  SPA  301 

us  but  masked  his  face,  not  one  who  did  not  convul- 
sively endeavor,  for  that  half-hour,  to  hide  his  un- 
easiness and  not  to  talk  of  the  phantom  which  lurked 
behind  him  and  could  not  for  a  single  moment  be 
forgotten.  Every  mouthful  seemed  to  swell  and 
threaten  to  choke  us.  The  whole  meal  resembled 
some  dismal  funeral  repast. 

After  this  painful  lunch,  His  Majesty  remained  in 
conversation  with  me  and  Schulenburg.  A  few  min- 
utes after  two  o'clock,  he  was  called  away  by  Gen- 
eral von  Plessen,  as  State  Secretary  von  Hintze, 
while  telephoning  to  Berlin,  had  been  surprised  by  a 
fresh  communication. 

We  others  remained  behind  in  anxious  suspense, 
fearing  that  some  totally  unforeseen  incident  had  oc- 
curred which  would  still  further  complicate  the  al- 
ready bewildered  and  confused  situation.  Those 
few  minutes  seemed  like  an  age  to  me. 

Presently  Schulenburg  and  I  were  ordered  to  the 
Kaiser. 

Notwithstanding  his  outward  and  forcibly  as- 
sumed self-control  and  dignity,  he  was  excessively 
agitated.  As  though  still  in  doubt  whether  what 
he  had  just  passed  through  could  be  reality  and 
truth,  he  told  us  that  he  had  just  received  informa- 
tion from  the  Imperial  Chancery  to  the  effect  that 
a  message  announcing  his  abdication  as  Kaiser  (and 
as  King  of  Prussia)  and,  simultaneously,  declaring 
my  renunciation  in  a  similar  sense  had  been  issued 


302    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

by  Prince  Max  of  Baden  and  disseminated  by- 
Wolff's  Bureau  without  awaiting  the  declaration  of 
the  Kaiser  or  consulting  me  in  the  matter;  further, 
that  the  Prince  had  resigned  his  post  of  Imperial 
Chancellor  and  had  been  appointed  Imperial  Re- 
gent, while  the  social-democratic  Reichstag  deputy, 
Ebert,  was  now  Imperial  Chancellor. 

We  were  all  so  dazed  and  paralyzed  by  this  start- 
ling news  that  for  the  moment  we  could  hardly  speak. 
Then  we  immediately  endeavored  to  ascertain  and 
establish  the  sequence  of  these  unexampled  proceed- 
ings: 

His  Excellency  von  Hintze  had  just  begun  to 
telephone  the  declaration  drawn  up  by  His  Majesty, 
when  he  was  interrupted.  This  declaration,  he  was 
told,  was  quite  futile;  it  must  be  the  complete  abdi- 
cation, as  Kaiser  and  as  King  of  Prussia  also,  and 
Herr  von  Hintze  must  listen  to  what  was  about  to 
be  'phoned  him  I  The  state  secretary  had  protested 
against  this  interruption  and  had  declared  that  the 
decision  of  His  Majesty  must  now  be  heard  before 
anything  else.  This  he  proceeded  to  read ;  but  he  had 
no  sooner  finished  than  Berlin  informed  him  that  a 
declaration  had  already  been  published  by  Wolff's 
Bureau  and  immediately  afterwards  communicated 
to  the  various  troops  by  wireless  telegrams;  this  decla- 
ration stated:  "The  Kaiser  and  King  has  resolved  to 
abdicate  the  throne.  The  Imperial  Chancellor  re- 
mains in  office  till  the  questions  connected  with  the 


SCENES  AT  SPA  303 

abdication  of  the  Kaiser,  the  renunciation  of  the 
throne  by  the  Crown  Prince  of  the  German  Empire 
and  of  Prussia  and  the  appointment  to  the  regency 
are  settled.  ..."  The  state  secretary,  von  Hintze, 
had  forthwith  entered  a  categorical  protest  against 
this  proclamation,  which  had  been  issued  without 
the  Kaiser's  authorization  and  did  not  represent  in 
the  least  His  Majesty's  decisions.  Von  Hintze  had 
repeatedly  demanded  the  presence  of  the  Imperial 
Chancellor  himself  at  the  telephone;  and  Prince  Max 
of  Baden  had  then,  in  reply  to  Hintze's  inquiry,  per- 
sonally acknowledged  his  authorship  of  the  pub- 
lished proclamation  and  declared  himself  prepared 
to  accept  the  responsibility  for  doing  so. 

Thus,  he  did  not,  for  one  moment,  deny  that  he 
was  the  originator  of  this  incomprehensible  act, 
namely,  publishing,  without  His  Majesty's  authoriza- 
tion, decisions  ostensibly  his  which  he  had  never 
agreed  to,  in  such  a  form,  and  in  a  way  that,  to  say 
the  least,  was  casual,  forestalling  my  own  decisions 
in  a  matter  that  had  not  yet  been  broached  even  by 
a  single  word. 

In  the  excited  and  credulous  mood  of  the  people 
at  home  and  of  the  troops,  it  was  clear  to  us  that,  by 
the  extraordinary  behavior  of  the  Prince,  the  appear- 
ance of  an  accomplished  fact  had  been  created  which 
was  to  cut  the  ground  we  stood  upon  from  under 
our  feet. 

With  a  clearer  judgment  as  to  what  had  hap- 


304    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

pened  to  His  Majesty  and  to  me,  and  clearer  views 
concerning  what  was  now  necessary,  we  passed 
over  into  the  room  where  the  other  gentlemen  were 
assembled. 

Great  consternation  at  the  monstrous  proceedings 
seized  them  also.  Cries  of  indignation  mingled  with 
suggestions  as  to  how  this  crafty  coup  was  to  be 
met. 

Schulenburg  and  I  importuned  His  Majesty  never, 
under  any  circumstances,  to  submit  to  this  coup 
d'etat,  but  to  oppose  the  machinations  of  the  Prince 
with  every  possible  means  and  to  abide  imalterably 
by  his  previously  formed  resolution.  The  Count 
also  emphasized  the  fact  that  this  incident  rendered 
it  all  the  more  essential  for  the  Kaiser,  as  Chief  War 
Lord,  to  remain  with  the  army. 

In  this  advice  we  found  some  support  from  General 
von  Marschall,  and  especially  also  from  the  old 
Colonel-General  von  Plessen,  whose  faithful  and 
chivalrous  nature  and  strong  soldierly  instinct  burst 
through  the  otherwise  courtier-like  formalities  usually 
carefully  observed  by  him  and  revolted  indignantly 
against  the  disgraceful  blow  aimed  at  his  Kaiser  and 
the  entire  dynasty.  It  was  of  great  importance 
that,  by  personal  inquiry,  he  demonstrated  the  un- 
tenability  of  Groner's  assertion  that  the  troops  of 
the  headquarters  had  become  unreliable  and  no 
longer  afforded  the  Kaiser  sufficient  protection. 

Count  von  der  Schulenburg  and  I  offered  to 


SCENES  AT  SPA  305 

undertake  the  subjection  of  the  revolutionary  ele- 
ments at  home,  proposing  first  to  restore  order  in 
Cologne.  But  this  suggestion  the  Kaiser  declined 
to  entertain,  as  he  would  have  no  war  of  Germans 
against  Germans. 

Finally,  he  declared  repeatedly  and  with  great 
emphasis  that  he  abode  by  his  decision  to  abdicate 
if  necessary  as  Kaiser  but  that  he  remained  King  of 
Prussia  and,  as  such,  would  not  leave  the  troops. 
He  instructed  General  von  Plessen,  General  von 
Marschall  and  His  Excellency  von  Hintze  to  report 
at  once  to  the  field-marshal  general  concerning 
what  had  happened  in  Berlin  and  his  own  attitude. 

Somewhat  encouraged  by  this  firm  mood  of  my 
father's,  who  now  seemed  to  see  his  way  clearly 
through  all  the  entanglements  and  difficulties,  I 
took  leave  of  him,  my  duties  as  commander-in-chief 
requiring  my  presence  in  the  headquarters  of  the 
Army  Group  at  Vielsalm. 

As  I  held  his  hand  in  mine,  I  never  imagined  that 
I  should  not  see  him  again  for  a  year  and  that  it 
would  then  be  in  Holland. 

Count  von  der  Schulenburg  remained  in  Spa. 

It  was  from  him,  and  not  from  personal  experi- 
ence, that  I  gathered  my  information  concerning 
the  further  events  of  that  fatal  9th  of  November 
in  Spa. 

Schulenburg,  who,  together  with  me,  had  taken 
leave  of  the  Kaiser,  had  been  called  back  by  him 


306    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

once  more.  My  father  had  repeated:  **I  remain 
King  of  Prussia  and,  as  such,  I  do  not  abdicate; 
and  I  also  remain  with  the  troops ! "  Then,  as  it  was 
impossible  to  recognize  the  revolutionary  Govern- 
ment in  Berlin,  the  question  of  the  armistice  was 
discussed.  Who  was  to  conclude  it?  His  Majesty 
decided  that  Field-Marshal  von  Hindenburg  should 
take  over  the  supreme  command  and  be  responsible 
for  conducting  the  negotiations.  At  the  close  of  the 
conversation,  the  Kaiser  held  out  his  hand  to  Count 
Schulenburg  and  repeated:  "I  remain  with  the 
army.    Tell  the  troops  so !" 

On  leaving  His  Majesty,  Schulenburg  proceeded 
to  the  quarters  of  the  field-marshal  general,  where, 
together  with  General  Groner,  General  von  Mar- 
schall,  State  Secretary  von  Hintze  and  the  legation 
councillor,  von  Griinau,  a  conference  was  com- 
menced at  half  past  three  concerning  the  situation 
created  by  Berlin.  General  Groner  declared  that 
there  were  no  military  means  of  counteracting  the 
abdication  proclaimed  in  Berlin.  At  the  suggestion 
of  His  Excellency  von  Hintze  it  was  decided  to  draw 
up  a  written  protest  against  the  declaration  of  abdi- 
cation which  had  been  proclaimed  without  the  con- 
sent or  approval  of  the  Kaiser,  and  to  have  this  docu- 
ment signed  by  the  Kaiser  and  deposited  in  a  secure 
place.  In  discussing  the  personal  safety  of  the  j 
Kaiser,  for  which  General  Groner  declined  all  re- 
sponsibility, the  question  was  raised  as  to  what 


SCENES  AT  SPA  307 

domicile  the  Kaiser  could  select  if  any  development 
of  affairs  should  force  him  to  go  abroad,  and  Hol- 
land was  mentioned.  Count  Schulenburg  stood 
alone  in  his  opinion  that  it  would  be  a  grave  mistake 
if  His  Majesty  left  the  army.  He  urged  that  His 
Majesty  should  join  the  Army  Group,  the  way 
being  open. 

Fully  confident  in  the  Kaiser's  firm  resolve.  Count 
von  Schulenburg,  accompanied  by  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Army  Group  Staff,  had  then  driven  back 
to  Vielsalm,  where  his  presence  was  urgently  re- 
quired on  account  of  the  tense  situation  at  the 
front. 

As  I  stated  in  recounting  events  at  Spa  on  Novem- 
ber 9,  the  views  obtained  from  a  conference  of  officers 
from  the  front  by  Colonel  Heye's  submitting  to  them 
certain  questions  were  adduced  as  evidence  in  sup- 
port of  the  chief  quartermaster-general's  opinion 
on  the  prevailing  mood  of  the  troops  at  the  front. 
At  my  instance  an  officer  of  the  Army  Group  Gen- 
eral Staff,  who  had  accompanied  Count  Schulen- 
burg to  Spa,  made  a  record  of  the  character  and  the 
procedure  of  this  council  convoked  directly  by  the 
General  Higher  Command.  I  append  this  docu- 
ment here  as  a  key  to  the  temper  and  the  mental 
condition  prevalent  at  Spa  and  because  it  is  necessary 
to  a  right  understanding  of  what  took  place.  On 
account  of  the  relations  of  the  officer  to  the  service, 
his  name  is  suppressed. 


308    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

,  14,  XI,  '19. 

My  Experiences  at  General  Headquarters  on  9,  XI, 

1918.  (Written  from  memory.*) 

In  the  night  of  the  8th-9th,  November,  General 
Count  von  der  Schulenburg  received  a  telephone 
call  from  Major  von  Stiilpnagel  ordering  him  to 
come  to  Spa  on  November  9.  Major  von  Bock 
took  the  message.  No  information  was  given  as 
to  why  Count  Schulenburg  should  come  or  who 
wished  to  see  him. — Count  Schulenburg  was  rather 
astonished  when  Bock  brought  him  the  message, 
but  he  at  once  gave  orders  for  his  departure  on  the 
9th.  He  appointed  Captain  X  of  the  General  Staff, 
Orderly  Officer  Lieutenant  Y  and  myself  to  accom- 
pany him.  The  same  morning,  instructions  had 
been  given  to  transfer  the  quarters  of  the  Upper 
Command  of  the  Army  Group  from  Waulsort  to 
Vielsalm. 

At  8.30  a.  m.  on  November  9,  we  reached  the  Hotel 
Britannique  in  Spa.  On  our  arrival,  we  were  struck 
by  the  fact  that,  in  the  hall  of  the  hotel  there  was 
assembled  a  large  body  of  officers  not  belonging  to 
the  Higher  Command  and  that  others  were  continu- 
ally arriving.  They  were  exclusively  officers  from 
the  front;  no  commander-in-chief,  commanding  gen- 
erals, chiefs  of  staff  or  other  General  Staff  officers 
were  present. 

*  Use  has  also  been  made  of  certain  notes  written  by  Captain  X  and 
myself  on  December  2,  1918,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  Count  Schu- 
lenburg. 


SCENES  AT  SPA  309 

Count  Schulenburg  at  once  proceeded  to  the 
Operations  Department  on  the  first  floor  in  order 
to  inquire  the  reasons  for  his  being  summoned.  On 
the  way  up-stairs  he  met  Colonel  Heye.  This  officer 
was  manifestly  surprised  to  see  Count  Schulen- 
burg. After  a  short  conversation,  which  I  could  not 
hear,  Schulenburg  returned  to  me,  saying: — "We 
are  evidently  not  wanted  here  at  all.  We  have 
rushed  into  an  affair  which  does  not  concern  us,  but 
we  will  see  what  is  really  going  on !" 

From  the  numerous  officers  standing  around,  we 
learned  that  they  had  all  been  ordered  to  attend  a 
meeting  at  9  a.  m.  Apparently,  from  each  of  the 
divisions  of  the  army  groups  Rupprecht,  Kron- 
prinz  and  Gallwitz,  a  selected  officer,  divisional 
commander  and  infantry  brigade  or  infantry  regi- 
ment commander  had  been  summoned  and  had  been 
rapidly  brought  along  by  motor-car.  No  informa- 
tion concerning  these  orders  had  reached  the  Upper 
Command  of  the  Army  Group.  The  reason  for  the 
conference  could  only  be  guessed.  The  first  idea 
was  that  it  concerned  the  expected  armistice.  But 
rumors  were  circulating  about  measures  to  oppose 
the  spread  of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  Ger- 
many; there  was  un verifiable  news  of  civil  war  in 
the  homeland,  of  the  westward  advance  of  mutinous 
sailors  through  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Bonn  and  Coblenz, 
of  the  blockading  of  the  railways  along  the  Rhine 
and  the  consequent  entire  stoppage  of  the  com- 


310    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

missariat.  From  the  few  members  of  the  General 
Higher  Command  whom  I  managed  to  see,  no 
further  information  was  to  be  obtained  in  the  hurry 
of  the  moment.  Those  whom  I  saw  appeared  de- 
jected and  rather  desponding.  It  must  be  added  here 
that,  for  nearly  a  fortnight,  the  Upper  Command  of 
the  Army  Group  had  received  through  the  post 
neither  newspapers  nor  letters  and  that  we  were, 
therefore,  inadequately  informed  as  to  the  situation 
at  home,  while  the  front  had  been  living  for  weeks 
on  nothing  but  rumors.  Hence  I  observed  that  the 
officers  arriving  from  the  front  accepted  without  any 
criticism,  even  very  unfavorable  reports  circulating 
in  the  conference.  A  suitable  soil  for  pessimism 
was,  moreover,  prepared  in  them  by  the  fact  that 
almost  all  had  been  fetched,  just  as  they  were,  from 
the  retreating  battles  in  which  they  had  been  fight- 
ing for  weeks  and  which  were  excessively  exhaust- 
ing and  in  every  way  depressing;  most  of  them, 
too,  had  travelled,  in  many  cases  hundreds  of  kilo- 
metres, in  open  cars  and  clad  in  thin  coats;  and  they 
were  cold,  unwashed  and  unfed. 

Soon  after  the  conversation  with  Colonel  Heye, 
Count  Schulenburg,  together  with  Captain  X  and 
myself,  went  to  the  hotel  dining-room,  where  the 
officers  from  the  front  were  assembling.  In  talk- 
ing to  various  acquaintances,  my  impression  was 
deepened  that,  for  the  reasons  already  adduced, 
these  officers  were  in  a  very  depressed  mood.    Mean- 


SCENES  AT  SPA  311 

time,  Colonel-General  von  Plessen  and  General  von 
Marschall  had  entered  the  room.  Their  dejected 
spirits  were  noticeable.  When  they  caught  sight  of 
Count  Schulenburg,  who  stood  near  me,  they  at  once 
came  up  and  commenced  talking  to  him.  I  could 
only  hear  fragments  of  the  conversation  and  guess 
its  general  tenor.  But,  almost  at  the  outset.  Count 
Schulenburg  said  to  the  two  of  them  very  sharply: 
— "Have  you  all  gone  mad  here?"  Later  he  said, 
among  other  things,  "The  army  stands  firmly  by  the 
Kaiser."  I  noticed  that  Colonel-General  von  Ples- 
sen and  General  Marschall  drew  fresh  confidence 
from  the  conversation  with  Count  Schulenburg; 
and  I  heard  the  words  "Schulenburg  must  go  with 
us  at  once  to  the  Kaiser."  The  meeting  had  not 
yet  been  opened,  and  Colonel-General  von  Plessen 
and  General  v.  Marschall  very  soon  took  Count 
Schulenburg  out  of  the  room  and  drove  with  him 
to  His  Majesty. — Captain  X,  Lieutenant  Y  and  I 
stayed  behind.  Captain  X  and  I  decided  to  remain 
at  the  meeting,  although  we  both  felt  that  we  were 
anything  but  welcome  there. 

About  nine  o'clock,  Field-Marshal  General  von 
Hindenburg,  accompanied  by  Colonel  Heye  and  a 
few  other  members  of  the  Higher  Command,  en- 
tered the  room.  The  field-marshal,  having  wel- 
comed the  officers  assembled  by  his  orders,  thanked 
them  warmly  for  all  that  they  had  hitherto  done; 
he  then  characterized  the  situation  as  serious  but 


312    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

not  desperate,  and  proceeded  to  explain  the  object 
of  the  meeting.  In  Germany,  he  said,  revolution 
had  broken  out  and,  in  some  places,  blood  had  al- 
ready flowed.  The  resignation  of  the  Kaiser  was 
being  demanded.  The  Higher  Command  hoped  to 
be  able  to  oppose  this  demand,  if  the  requisite  assur- 
ances were  given  them  by  the  army  at  the  front. 
On  these  questions  which  Colonel  Heye  would  pres- 
ently lay  before  them,  the  gentlemen  were  to  ex- 
press their  views.  In  further  delineation  of  the 
position  of  affairs,  the  field-marshal  stated  roughly 
that  it  was  a  question  for  His  Majesty  whether  he 
could  march  to  Berlin  at  the  head  of  the  entire  army 
in  order  to  recover  there  the  Imperial  and  Royal 
Crown.  For  this  purpose,  however — ^no  armistice 
having  as  yet  been  concluded  and  the  railways  not 
being  available — the  whole  army,  with  the  enemy 
of  course  following  rapidly  in  its  rear,  would  have 
to  wheel  round  and  march  for  two  or  three  weeks 
fighting  all  the  way  in  the  endeavor  to  reach  Berlin. 
Special  emphasis  was  laid  by  the  field-marshal  upon 
the  difficulties  of  getting  supplies  of  all  kinds,  since 
everything  was  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents,  and 
he  laid  stress  on  the  fatigues  and  privations  to  which 
the  troops  would  be  unceasingly  subjected. 

After  this  description  of  the  situation — all  of 
whose  points  were  given  by  the  field-marshal,  not 
by  Colonel  Heye — the  former  left  the  meeting.  I 
remember  that  my  first  impression,  as  I  uttered 


SCENES  AT  SPA  313 

it  to  Captain  X,  was  something  like  this: — It  is 
regrettable  that  the  generally  revered  field-mar- 
shal, whom  many  of  those  present  had  certainly 
just  seen  for  the  first  time,  should  have  been  obliged 
to  address  them  on  such  a  sad  matter  and  that  he 
had  given  them  a  sketch  of  the  military  situation 
which  many  critical  minds  could  only  regard  with 
considerable  scepticism.  For  me  there  could  be  no 
doubt  that,  after  such  a  representation  of  affairs, 
only  negative  answers  could  be  expected. 

Meanwhile,  the  attendance  at  the  meeting  was 
continually  being  increased  by  new  arrivals,  though 
many  did  not  get  in  till  after  midday,  when  the  an- 
swer to  the  questions  had  been  long  since  reported 
to  His  Majesty.  These  questions — two  or  three  in 
number — were  put  to  the  meeting  by  Colonel  Heye. 
Their  wording  has  escaped  my  memory;  but  roughly 
it  was  asked  whether,  under  the  watchword  "For  the 
Kaiser,"  the  Higher  Command  could,  with  any  pros- 
pect of  success,  call  upon  the  troops  at  the  front 
to  march  to  Berlin  and  thus  unloose  a  civil  war,  or 
whether  the  army  could  no  longer  be  had  for  this 
purpose.  Colonel  Heye  requested  the  gentlemen 
to  consider  this  important  matter  each  for  himself 
and  uninfluenced  by  one  another.  After  the  lapse 
of  a  certain  time,  he  would  invite  the  gentlemen  to 
come  to  him  and  state  their  views,  as  far  as  possible, 
general  command  by  general  command,  beginning 
with  the  right  wing. 


314    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

What  replies  Colonel  Heye  received  is  unknown 
to  me;  but,  as  already  indicated,  I  do  not  doubt, 
from  what  had  passed,  that  the  vast  majority  of  them 
were  in  the  negative.  As  I  learned  afterwards,  all 
the  officers  from  the  front  who  took  part  in  the  con- 
ference were  pledged  to  secrecy  by  Colonel  Heye 
and  gave  their  hand  on  it.  No  such  request  was 
put  to  Captain  X  or  myself. 

My  judgment  upon  the  conference  and  the  inter- 
rogation of  the  front-line  commanders  may  be  for- 
mulated as  follows: — 

Considering  the  importance  of  the  verdict  to  be 
given  by  each  individual  officer  ordered  to  Spa,  it 
was  bad  management  to  interrogate  these  men  who, 
in  many  cases,  were  physically  and  psychically  re- 
duced without  giving  them  an  opportunity  of  re- 
cuperation or  giving  them  time  mentally  to  digest 
the  news  placed  before  them  in  reference  to  the  state 
of  affairs  at  home.  It  was  noticeable  in  the  after- 
noon how  changed  these  same  officers  were  in  appear- 
ance after  they  had  rested  a  bit,  had  washed  and 
dressed,  had  limched  and  lighted  a  cigar. 

It  was  an  incomprehensible  omission  to  leave  un- 
summoned  the  commanders-in-chief,  the  command- 
ing generals  and  the  chiefs  of  staff,  to  hear,  as  it 
were,  the  officers  from  the  front  behind  their  backs. 
Did  the  General  Higher  Command  fear  their  judg- 
ment?   For  that  there  was  no  occasion.    From  the 


SCENES  AT  SPA  315 

Higher  Command  of  the  Crown  Prince  Army  Group, 
at  any  rate,  they  had  all  along,  and  especially  during 
the  last  few  weeks  and  months,  heard  nothing  but 
the  most  candid  pronoimcements  as  to  the  fighting 
capacity  of  the  troops.  Unfortunately,  their  state- 
ments had  not  always  met  with  the  proper  considera- 
tion. 

The  picture  of  the  situation  from  which  the  com- 
manders were  to  form  their  judgment  was  so  sombre 
that  an  answer  in  favor  of  His  Majesty  was  scarcely 
to  be  expected.  On  such  an  hypothesis,  the  army 
was  not  to  be  won  over  for  the  Kaiser.  Moreover, 
a  large  proportion  of  the  front  officers  doubtless 
lacked  the  analytic  capacity  and  tactical  judgment 
requisite  for  getting  to  the  very  heart  of  this  mo- 
mentous situation. 

If,  as  it  would  now  appear,  the  significance  of  the 
interrogation  was  whether  the  Kaiser  could  remain 
with  his  army  or  not,  it  was  a  culpable  omission  not 
to  have  pointed  out  more  explicitly  the  consequences 
which  might  ensue  from  their  replies  and  therefore 
no  detailed  representation  was  given  of  what  the 
position  would  be  if  His  Majesty  failed  to  remain 
Chief  War  Lord.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  question 
whether  His  Majesty  would  be  safe  with  the  troops 
was  never  put. 

Not  until  4.30  p.  m.  did  Count  Schulenburg  re- 
turn to  the  hotel.     Captain  X,  Lieutenant  Y  and 


316    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

I  had  spent  most  of  the  time  waiting  in  the  hotel, 
without  being  able  to  ascertain  anything  of  any 
significance  from  any  one.  Count  Schulenburg  was 
greatly  agitated.  Briefly  and  with  intense  indigna- 
tion he  described  what  had  happened.  As  the  most 
essential  points  of  what  he  told  us,  I  recall  es- 
pecially the  following: — ^We  have  no  longer  any 
Kaiser.  A  consultation  has  just  been  held  at  the 
field-marshal's  villa  as  to  whether  His  Majesty  shall 
be  sent  off  to-night  to  Holland.  Groner  says  he  can 
no  longer  guarantee  his  safety  for  another  night. 
Bolshevists  are,  he  asserts,  marching  on  Spa  from 
Verviers.  The  verdict  of  the  front  officers  brought 
by  Heye  has  turned  out  to  be  in  the  negative.  My 
objections  that  the  army  is  loyal  and  abides  by  its 
oath  were  shelved  by  Groner  with  the  words:  "Loy- 
alty to  King  and  military  oaths  are,  after  all,  mere 
ideas!"  I  could  not  carry  my  demand  that  the 
commanders-in-chief  and  the  commanding  generals 
should  have  a  hearing.  On  my  departure  His 
Majesty  promised  me  he  would  remain  King  of 
Prussia  and  stay  with  the  army.  Concerning  every- 
thing else  that  occurred  in  His  Majesty's  villa  and 
the  field-marshal's  and  what  Count  Schulenburg 
told  us  further,  exact  information  is  to  be  found  in 
the  record  of  the  events  at  Spa  on  November  9,  as 
since  published  in  the  press.  I  would  emphasize 
the  fact  that  the  particulars  contained  therein  co- 
incide perfectly  with  what  Count  Schulenburg  told 


SCENES  AT  SPA  317 

us  at  the  Hotel  Britannique  and  during  the  return 
journey  to  Vielsalm,  /.  e.,  while  still  under  the  first 
impressions  of  what  he  had  just  experienced. 

Signed, 

pro  tern,  in  the  General  Staff  of  the 
Higher  Command  of  the  Crown  Prince  Army  Group. 

On  the  top  of  all  the  exciting  events  of  that  day 
the  night  brought  me  a  letter  from  my  father  which 
was  irreconcilable  with  the  last  impressions  which  I 
and  the  chef  of  my  General  Staff  had  carried  away 
with  us  from  Spa,  and  destroyed  all  the  hope  and  con- 
fidence we  had  cherished  concerning  a  restoration  of 
the  old  order  of  things.  The  letter  confronted  me 
with  unalterable  facts  which  could  not  but  change 
the  course  of  my  destiny  and  turn  me  aside  from  the 
path  which  I  had  hitherto  regarded  as  the  only 
proper  one  and  which,  relying  upon  my  rights  and 
obligations,  I  had  intended  unswervingly  to  follow. 

My  father's  letter  ran: — 

"My  dear  boy, 
"As  the  Field-marshal  cannot  guarantee  my  safety 
here  and  will  not  pledge  himself  for  the  reliability  of 
the  troops,  I  have  decided,  after  a  severe  inward 
struggle,  to  leave  the  disorganized  arm^y.  Berlin  is 
totally  lost;  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Socialists,  and 
two  governments  have  been  formed  there — one 
with  Ebert  as  Chancellor  and  one  by  the  Indepen- 


318    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

dents.  Till  the  troops  start  their  march  home,  I 
recommend  your  holding  out  at  your  post  and  keep- 
ing the  troops  together!  God  willing,  I  trust  we 
shall  meet  again.  General  von  Marschall  will  give 
you  further  information. 

"Your  deeply-bowed  father, 
(signed)     "WILHELM." 

I  had  no  particulars  concerning  the  circumstances 
which  had  been  cogent  enough  to  force  the  Kaiser, 
in  a  few  hours,  to  give  up  everything  and  to  desist 
from  his  determination  to  stand  by  his  kingship. 
For  the  present,  we  could  only  assume  that  the 
Kaiser  had  been  rendered  pliable  by  the  influence  of 
those  men  whose  views  Count  Schulenburg  and  I 
had  combated  with  all  our  might  and  who  had  thus 
been  paralyzed  so  long  as  we  were  in  Spa. 

Details  of  what  took  place  on  that  fatal  afternoon 
only  came  to  my  knowledge  very  much  later.  I 
gathered  them  from  conversations  with  His  Majesty 
and  the  gentlemen  of  his  suite  and  from  the  written 
records  of  various  participators. 

From  these  it  appeared  that,  after  the  departure 
of  Count  Schulenburg,  a  report  was  made  to  His 
Majesty,  the  field-marshal,  Generals  Groner  and 
von  Marschall,  His  Excellency  von  Hintze  and  Herr 
von  Griinau.  Later  on  Admiral  Scheer  also  joined 
the  party.  The  Kaiser  was  most  urgently  pressed 
to  issue  his  abdication  and  to  start  for  Holland, 


SCENES  AT  SPA  319 

Emphasis  was  laid  on  the  fact  that  fifty  officers  from 
all  parts  of  the  army  had  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  troops  at  the  front  were  no  longer  to  be  trusted. 
It  was  declared  that,  in  these  circumstances,  the 
Kaiser  must  leave  the  collapsing  army  and  go  to 
Holland.  Groner  emphasized  the  fact  that  the 
General  Staff  was  of  the  same  conviction.  For  His 
Majesty,  the  attitude  adopted  by  the  field-marshal 
general  was  decisive.  No  final  decision  seems  to 
have  been  formed.  His  Majesty  only  agreed  to 
preparatory  steps  being  taken  for  his  journey  to 
Holland. 

After  the  conference  had  been  closed,  the  Kaiser 
said  to  Count  Dohna,  who  reported  himself  from 
furlough:  "I  have  answered  Groner  categorically 
that  I  have  now  done  with  him;  despite  all  sugges- 
tions, I  remain  in  Spa."  To  his  two  aides-de-camp 
he  remarked:  "I  am  staying  the  night  in  the  villa; 
provide  yourselves  with  arms  and  ammunition.  The 
field-marshal  tells  me  that  we  may  have  to  reckon 
with  Bolshevist  attacks." 

It  was  not  until  after  a  further  discussion  with 
Colonel-General  von  Plessen  and  Herr  von  Griinau, 
that  the  Kaiser  decided  not  to  pass  the  night  in 
Villa  Fraineuse  but  in  the  train  at  Spa,  for  which  he 
gave  the  necessary  orders.  Further  representations 
— made  at  the  instance  of  the  field-marshal  general 
after  supper  and  based,  at  his  wish,  upon  the  great 
danger  of  Bolshevist  attacks  from  Aix-la-Chapelle 


320    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

and  Verviers — were  needed  to  induce  the  Kaiser  to 
leave.  Major  Niemann,  the  General  Staff  officer 
of  the  Higher  Command  attached  to  the  Kaiser,  has 
furnished  a  description  of  what  occurred.  Accord- 
ing to  this  account,  the  resolve  of  His  Majesty  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  November  9, 
developed  as  follows: 

"Between  4  and  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Field- 
Marshal  von  Hindenburg  and  State  Secretary  von 
Hintze  reported  to  His  Majesty  that  the  situation 
was  continually  growing  worse  and  requested  him  to 
consider  crossing  the  frontier  into  neutral  territory 
as  the  last  resort.  The  field-marshal  made  use  of 
the  words:  *I  cannot  assume  the  responsibility  for 
the  Kaiser's  being  dragged  to  Berlin  by  muti- 
nous troops  and  there  handed  over  as  a  prisoner  to 
the  Revolutionary  Government.'  His  Majesty  de- 
clared his  assent  to  preparatory  steps  being  taken 
by  His  Excellency  von  Hintze  for  the  possible  recep- 
tion of  His  Majesty  in  Holland.  After  this  conver- 
sation His  Majesty  again  gave  personal  instructions 
for  measures  of  security  to  be  adopted  during  his 
stay  in  Spa. 

"Towards  7  p.  m.,  His  Excellency  von  Hintze 
and  Colonel-General  von  Plessen  again  came  to 
request  His  Majesty,  in  their  own  name  and  in  the 
name  of  the  field-marshal,  to  leave  for  Holland 
that  night.  The  situation  at  home  and  in  the  army, 
said  the  state  secretary,  made  a  speedy  decision 


SCENES  AT  SPA  321 

by  His  Majesty  essential.  The  possibility  of  His 
Majesty's  being  seized  by  his  own  troops,  as  already 
stated  by  the  field-marshal,  was  getting  nearer 
and  nearer. — ^At  first,  His  Majesty  yielded  to  this 
pressure.  Subsequently,  however,  on  calm  reflec- 
tion. His  Majesty  came  to  the  decision  not  to  leave 
but  to  remain  with  the  army  and  to  fight  to  the 
last.  On  the  way  to  the  royal  train,  in  which  the 
greater  part  of  the  suite  lived  and  in  which  all  meals 
were  taken,  His  Majesty,  about  7.45  p.  m.,  com- 
municated this  decision  to  his  aides-de-camp,  von 
Hirschfeld  and  von  Ilsemann.  On  reaching  the 
royal  train,  he  proceeded  to  General  von  Gontard 
and  told  him  expressly  that  he  would  not  follow  the 
advice  given  him  by  the  Higher  Command  to  leave 
the  army  and  the  country;  on  the  contrary,  he  would 
stay  with  his  army  to  the  end  and  risk  his  life. 
The  demand  that  he  should  leave  the  army  was,  he 
said,  preposterous. 

"His  Majesty  expressed  himself  in  the  same  sense 
to  Colonel-General  von  Plessen  and  to  General 
Baron  Marshal. 

"By  supper-time  (8.30  p.  m.)  the  idea  of  departure 
appeared  to  be  finally  given  up. 

"After  supper,  /.  e.,  about  10  o'clock.  Baron  von 
Griinau  appeared  under  instructions  from  His  Ex- 
cellency von  Hintze,  and  reported  to  His  Majesty 
that  both  Field-marshal  von  Hindenburg  and  State 
Secretary  von  Hintze  had  come  to  the  conclusion 


322    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

that  His  Majesty  must  start  for  Holland  without 
delay.  The  situation  had  become  untenable,  as 
the  insurrectionary  movement  threatened  to  travel 
from  Aix-la-Chapelle  and  Eupen  to  Spa,  and  insur- 
gent troops  were  already  marching  on  the  town; 
while  the  route  to  the  front  was  blocked  by  mutinous 
troops  on  the  lines  of  communication. 

"His  Majesty,  yielding  to  these  renewed  urgent 
demands  of  the  leading  responsible  military  and 
competent  political  advisers,  gave  orders  for  the 
journey  to  the  Dutch  frontier  to  start  at  5  a.  m. 
on  November  10." — 

All  these  facts  seem  to  me  to  prove  that  His 
Majesty  did  not  resolve,  of  his  own  accord,  to  go 
to  Holland.  On  the  contrary,  he  protested  against 
the  idea  to  the  very  last.  But  all  his  advisers,  with 
the  Higher  Command  at  the  head,  employed  the 
most  forcible  means  to  wrest  this  decision  from  him. 
The  leading  persons  of  his  suite  seem  also  to  have 
gone  over  to  the  other  side  in  the  course  of  the 
afternoon  and  to  have  exerted  themselves  to  ob- 
tain an  early  departure  of  His  Majesty. 

Only  in  this  way  can  it  be  explained  that,  in  Viel- 
salm,  a  bare  hour  by  motor-car  from  Spa,  we  did  not 
get  news  of  this  decision  in  time  for  us  to  intervene 
and  to  induce  the  Kaiser  to  join  our  Army  Group. — 
True,  the  situation  at  the  front  was  very  critical, 
and  our  presence  in  the  Vielsalm  headquarters 
extremely  necessary.    Nevertheless,  it  was  a  mis- 


SCENES  AT  SPA  323 

take  for  Schulenburg  and  me  not  to  have  remained 
in  Spa  or  to  have  taken  the  Kaiser  along  with  us 
when  we  left.  We  relied  upon  the  promise  of  the 
Kaiser  and  upon  those  around  him,  who  knew  our 
views  and  attitude,  to  give  us  a  call  immediately 
any  change  occurred  in  the  Kaiser's  resolve. 

Considering  in  retrospect  the  abdication  of  the 
Kaiser,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  was  only  one 
suitable  moment  for  such  an  act.  That  moment 
was  at  the  end  of  September,  when  Kaiser  and  peo- 
ple were  startled  by  the  military  collapse  and  by 
the  demand  of  the  Higher  Command  for  an  im- 
mediate armistice  proposal.  The  revelation  of  the 
bald  truth  was  so  crushing  that  the  people  would 
have  understood  the  Kaiser's  taking  upon  himself 
the  responsibility  and  sacrificing  himself.  Such  an 
abdication  would  have  been  voluntary  and  would 
not  have  weakened  the  monarchy.  In  October, 
one  privilege  after  another  was  wrested  from  the 
crown.  Even  the  Higher  Command,  in  the  middle 
of  October,  agreed  to  the  supreme  command  in 
wartime  being  torn  from  the  Kaiser — from  the  Chief 
War  Lord.  Ultimately  came  the  demand  for  abdi- 
cation, and  it  grew  louder  and  louder  as  the  hostile 
propagandists  acted  more  and  more  in  concert. 
If  it  had  been  accorded  in  response  to  this  pressure, 
the  crown  would  have  been  surrendered  to  the  ab- 
solute control  of  Parliament  and  of  the  mob,  and  the 
end  would  have  been  just  the  same. 


324    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Or  does  any  one  still  believe  that  the  dynasties 
would  not  have  been  overturned,  if  the  Kaiser  had 
abdicated  in  the  days  of  November  or  in  the  fore- 
noon of  November  9?  The  revolution  was  not  di- 
rected against  the  person  of  the  Kaiser  but  against 
monarchy. 

For  months  the  ground  had  been  undermined, 
and  the  favorable  moment  was  being  awaited. 
This  moment  had  arrived  when  the  people's  confi- 
dence in  Hindenburg  and  Ludendorff  received  such 
a  severe  blow  by  the  recognition  that  the  war  was 
lost.  The  people  were  worn  out;  the  masses  were 
worn  out  and  ready  for  the  revolution;  the  middle- 
classes  were  worn  out  and  apathetically  let  things 
slide.  The  will  to  war  and  to  resistance  was  para- 
lyzed; and  people  yielded  to  the  delusion  that  they 
would  obtain  a  better  peace  by  removing  the  Kaiser. 

The  revolution  had  an  astoundingly  easy  game  to 
play.  A  few  hours  sufficed  to  sweep  away  the  heredi- 
tary Princes  and  their  governments.  Without  fight- 
ing and  without  bloodshed,  the  revolution  was 
accomplished — a  proof  of  how  thoroughly  it  was 
prepared,  partly  by  the  moving  and  swaying  forces 
of  our  unfortunate  destiny  and  partly  by  the  sys- 
tematic work  and  influence  of  the  revolutionaries. 

The  Kaiser  recognized  that  the  abdication  de- 
manded from  him  would  be  the  commencement  of 
chaos.  He  recognized  that,  for  the  difficult  times 
ahead  of  us,  one  thing  especially  was  essential:  the 


SCENES  AT  SPA  325 

one  thing  needful  was  the  maintenance  of  authority 
and  of  the  fighting  capacity  of  the  army  so  that  it 
might  resist  any  attempt  to  dictate  peace.  Was  he 
not  right?  The  German  people  had  received  the 
most  extensive  democratic  rights.  The  old  authority 
could  not  be  dispensed  with  in  the  hour  of  greatest 
peril.  The  Higher  Command  were  forced  to  sign  the 
ignominious  armistice,  not  because  we  were  defense- 
less, but  because  the  field  army  could  not  continue 
the  campaign  with  the  revolution  in  its  rear. 

The  entire  blame  for  their  misfortune  our  people 
have  heaped  upon  their  old  Kaiser.  As  his  son, 
but  also  as  one  who  was  never  his  blind  admirer,  I 
must  demand  justice  in  any  verdict  pronounced 
upon  my  father.  For  three  years  he  has  been  over- 
whelmed with  abuse  by  the  parties  of  the  present 
Government  who  still  impute  every  failure  to  the 
old  regime  and  especially  to  the  Kaiser,  and  by  the 
heroes  of  the  extreme  left  as  well  as  those  of  the 
right.  Like  everybody  else,  my  father  was,  after 
all,  only  human,  and  he  too  was  worn  out.  Did 
not  stronger  men  also  experience  their  hours  of 
weakness  in  the  war? 

To  what  trials  was  not  this  sensitive  and  most 
pacific  of  princes  exposed  in  the  war?  The  last 
year  of  the  war  brought  disappointment  after  disap- 
pointment. In  its  evil  closing  months,  adverse  in- 
telligence was  followed  by  evil  tidings  and  evil 
tidings  by  bad  news;  and,  in  the  closing  days  and 


326    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

hours  everything  collapsed.  He  had  resolved  to 
tread  the  path  of  duty,  and  in  that  path  to  fall 
fighting.  He  relied  upon  the  Higher  Command, 
who,  till  the  6th  of  November,  took  his  part  with 
the  whole  weight  of  their  authority. 

In  the  decisive  hour,  when  the  nation,  the  home 
army  and  the  navy  deserted  him,  that  man  also 
failed  him  who  for  him  and  for  the  nation  was  the 
greatest  authority  and  to  whom  he  had  subordinated 
himself. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  my  father  trusted  this  man, 
this  responsible  adviser,  more  than  he  did  me  or 
my  chef?  Is  it  any  wonder  that,  in  the  enormous 
excitement  and  tension  which  had  seized  him,  he, 
after  prolonged  opposition,  eventually  yielded  be- 
cause his  great  field-marshal  strove  for  it  with  all 
the  means  at  his  disposal?  Is  it  not  natural  that 
he  should  have  shunned  a  bloody  struggle  against 
two  fronts,  a  struggle  withal  which,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  field-marshal  general,  the  German 
army  was  no  longer  morally  capable  of  conducting  ? 
What  enormous  difficulties  lay  in  the  fact  that  the 
enemy  Alliance  was  prepared  to  negotiate  only  with 
a  so-called  popular  Government !  Without  a  doubt, 
our  enemies,  in  the  event  of  a  conflict,  would  have 
made  the  surrender  of  the  Kaiser  a  preliminary 
condition  for  the  continuance  of  the  armistice  and 
peace  negotiations.  Was  my  father  to  place  army 
and  country  in  such  a  terrible  dilemma  ?    And  so  he 


SCENES  AT  SPA  327 

acquiesced  in  his  fate,  rather  than  involve  his  brave 
and  severely  suffering  people  and  army  in  civil  war 
on  his  account.  It  was  but  logical  that  he  should 
go  abroad  after  he  had  given  up  the  struggle  with 
the  revolution. 

I  demand  for  the  Kaiser  humaneness  in  delibera- 
tion and  righteousness  in  judgment;  and  yet  I  fear 
I  shall  not  convince  his  adversaries — those  adver- 
saries who  cast  stones  at  him  because  he  went  to 
Holland  and  who  would  have  stoned  him  just  the 
same,  if,  after  abdicating,  he  had  marched  back 
home.  But  I  hope  to  meet  with  understanding  for 
my  father  among  those  nationally  disposed  Ger- 
mans who  have  the  honest  courage  to  look  back 
and  to  beat  their  own  breasts:  "He  that  is  without 
sin!" 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EXILED   TO   HOLLAND 

May,  1921. 

In  the  early  morning  of  November  10,  I  delib- 
erated with  my  chief  of  staff,  Count  Schulenburg, 
about  the  situation  created  by  the  departure  of  the 
Kaiser  and  the  possibilities  left  open  to  me.  My 
own  inclination  was  still  towards  resistance. 

Combat  the  revolution  then?  But  only  Hinden- 
burg,  the  man  into  whose  hands  the  Kaiser  com- 
mitted the  supreme  command  over  the  troops  at 
the  front  and  the  troops  at  home  and  to  whom  I, 
myself,  am  subordinate  as  soldier  and  as  leader  of 
my  Army  Group,  only  this  one  man  has  the  right 
to  summon  us  to  such  a  combat. 

And  while  we  are  still  talking  of  him  and  of  the 
decisions  which  he  may  perhaps  be  making,  there 
comes  the  report  from  Spa  that  he  has  placed  him- 
self at  the  disposal  of  the  new  Government ! 

Therewith,  every  thought  of  fighting  is  blasted 
in  its  roots — any  enterprise  against  the  new  rulers 
is  doomed  to  futility.  With  Hindenburg  and  the 
watchword  of  order  and  peace,  much  might  have 
been  saved;  in  opposing  him  there  was  only  more 
to  be  lost,  namely,  German  blood,  and  the  prospect 

of  an  armistice  and  of  peace. 

328 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  329 

Hence,  my  every  temptation  to  regain  my  heredi- 
tary power  by  force  of  arms  must  be  repudiated; 
and  all  that  can  persist  is  my  desire  in  any  case  to 
do  my  duty  as  a  soldier  who  has  sworn  fealty  to  his 
Kaiser  and  owes  obedience  to  the  representative 
appointed  by  that  Kaiser.  Accordingly,  I  will  re- 
tain the  command  in  my  hands  and  will  safely  lead 
back  home,  in  order  and  discipline,  the  troops  in- 
trusted to  me.  Count  von  der  Schulenburg  indorses 
this  resolve  with  his  advice;  and  like  views  are  ex- 
pressed by  my  army  leaders  von  Einem,  von  Hutier, 
von  Eberhardt,  and  von  Boehn,  some  of  whom  pre- 
sent themselves  among  the  staff  of  the  Army  Group 
in  the  course  of  the  morning  while  the  others  are 
communicated  with  by  telephone.  Not  one  of  them 
but  is  deeply  affected  by  these  unhappy  decrees; 
not  one  of  them  who  does  not  regard  the  events  of 
Berlin  and  Spa  with  bewilderment.  The  same 
question  again  and  again:  "And  Hindenburg?" 
And  again  and  again  the  one  answer:  "General 
Groner *' 

After  a  long  discussion  of  the  pros  and  cons,  I 
left  Vielsalm  in  the  afternoon.  Schulenburg  advises 
me  urgently  to  proceed  nearer  to  the  troops  at  the 
front  during  the  negotiations  with  Berlin,  and  to 
await  the  decisions  of  the  Government  in  a  spot 
more  remote  from  the  demoralization  that  was 
likely  to  find  more  ready  expression  behind  the  lines. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  necessary  to  select  a  place 


330    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

accessible  by  telephone.  Therefore,  in  the  end,  it 
is  agreed  that  I  shall,  for  the  present,  proceed  to 
the  headquarters  of  the  Third  Army. 

That  drive  I  shall  never  forget.  My  orderly  of- 
ficer, Zobeltitz  and  the  courier  officer  of  the  Army 
Group,  Captain  Anker,  accompany  me;  while  my 
two  adjutants,  Miildner  and  Miiller,  remain  behind 
to  conduct  the  further  negotiations  with  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

In  one  place  we  passed  through,  my  car  was  sur- 
rounded by  hundreds  of  young  soldiers,  who  greeted 
me  with  shouts  and  questions.  It  is  a  depot  of  re- 
cruits of  the  guards;  none  of  the  lads  will  believe 
in  the  reports  of  the  revolution,  and  they  beg  me 
to  march  home  with  them.  They  are  prepared  to 
batter  everything  to  pieces!  When  they  hear  that 
Hindenburg  also  has  placed  himself  at  the  disposal 
of  the  new  Government,  they  become  quite  silent. 
That  seems  beyond  their  comprehension.  I  press 
many  hands;  I  hear  behind  me  the  shouts  of  the 
young  voices:  "Auf  Wiedersehen!" — Dear,  trusty 
German  lads — now  doubtless  German  men ! 

We  toil  along  incredible  country  roads  and  forest 
tracks;  and,  about  nine  o'clock,  we  reach  our  goal. 
But  no  staff  is  to  be  seen  anywhere !  Accidentally, 
a  veterinary  surgeon  turns  up  in  the  dark  and  in- 
forms us  that  no  staff  has  ever  been  located  here. 
The  name  of  the  headquarters  of  the  Third  Army 
occurring  twice,  they  have  been  incorrectly  indi- 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  331 

cated  on  my  map.  But  he  will  show  us  the  way 
to  the  next  place,  where  von  Schmettow's  staff  was 
located  yesterday. 

Our  route  traverses  a  vast  and  pitch-dark  forest. 
In  an  hour's  time  we  arrive  at  a  house  where  every 
one  has  already  retired  to  rest.  After  much  shout- 
ing and  sounding  of  our  motor-horns  an  officer  at 
length  appears  and  explains  that  this  is  a  school  for 
ensigns;  von  Schmettow's  group  has  already  left. 
The  young  man  is  exceedingly  kind,  as  though  he 
must  apologize  for  Schmettow's  having  gone.  He 
begs  me  to  stay  the  night;  he  does  not  know  where 
the  Third  Army  Staff  is  located,  but  presumes 
Einem  to  have  taken  up  his  quarters  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  little  town  of  Laroche. 

We  proceed,  therefore,  on  our  night  journey. 
Eventually  we  find  Laroche.  It  is  a  railway  junc- 
tion. It  is  a  terrible  chaos  through  which  we  drive: 
bawling,  undisciplined  men  going  on  leave,  shouts 
and  screams;  and  storming  of  the  trains.  At  the 
commandant's,  we  learn  that  the  Third  Army  Staff 
is  lodged  in  a  house  quite  close  by. 

Off  we  start  again !  On  a  deeply  rutted  road  we 
have  to  pass  under  a  narrow  railway  arch.  Here  an 
Austrian  howitzer  battery  has  jammed  itself  into 
some  German  munition  vans  in  a  hopeless  entangle- 
ment. It  is  pitch  dark  to  boot.  The  small  lights 
flicker;  the  men  shout  and  curse.  Our  car  sinks 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mud;  and  a  fine,  cold 


332    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

drizzle  pours  down.  And  thus  we  sit  there  and  wait 
in  that  chaos  for  two  whole  hours.  The  yelling  and 
bawling  at  the  railway  station  reverberates  over  our 
heads;  groups  of  muddy  shirkers  and  soldiers  from 
the  lines  of  communication  drift  mistrustfully  past, 
casting  greedy,  sidelong  looks  at  us  as  they  go  by. 
Two  such  hours,  after  that  flood  of  terrible  events 
and  with  one's  heart  full  of  pain  and  bitterness.  It 
is  like  a  picture  of  the  ghastly  end  of  our  four  and  a 
half  years  of  heroic  struggle:  confusion,  insanity, 
crime. 

I  would  not  wish  my  worst  enemy  the  burning 
torture  of  those  hours. 

It  was  past  midnight  when  we  eventually  reached 
the  army  headquarters,  where  we  were  welcomed 
with  cordial  friendship  by  His  Excellency  von  Einem 
and  his  chief  of  staff,  Lieutenant-Colonel  von 
Klewitz.  They  had  been  expecting  us  since  late 
in  the  afternoon,  and  had  begun  to  fear  some  mis- 
fortune might  have  overtaken  us  and  they  would 
not  see  us  again. 

We  soon  retire  to  bed;  but  again  I  find  it  scarcely 
possible  to  sleep. 

The  eleventh  is  a  cold,  sombre  day.  At  the 
Third  Army  Headquarters  not  a  trace  of  the  revo- 
lution is  observable.  From  the  chief  of  staff  down 
to  the  lowest  orderly,  everything  is  irreproachable; 
and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  see  the  smartness  and  alacrity 
of  the  men.    Were  it  not  that  all  the  unspeakably 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  333 

bitter  experiences  of  the  last  few  days  are  burned 
indelibly  into  my  brain,  I  could,  at  the  sight  of  this 
perfect  order,  imagine  myself  awaking  from  a  hor- 
rible dream.  Klewitz  told  me,  by  the  way,  that  a 
soldiers'  council  had  been  formed  among  his  tele- 
phone staff;  but  he  had  soon  put  an  end  to  it,  and 
the  men  came  to  him  afterwards  to  apologize. 

In  the  course  of  the  forenoon,  the  leader  of  the 
First  Guards,  General  Eduard  von  Jena  and  his  gen- 
eral staff  officer.  Captain  von  Steuben,  reported  to 
me.  They  are  both  fine,  well-tried  men.  We  were 
much  affected;  and  when  they  took  leave  of  me, 
tears  were  in  their  eyes. 

In  the  afternoon  I  telephone  to  my  adjutants  at 
Vielsalm.  They  report  that,  in  regard  to  the  nego- 
tiations with  the  Government,  they  are  again  com- 
municating with  Berlin,  but  no  decisions  have  been 
come  to  yet.  One  thing  I  request,  namely,  that  no 
sort  of  conclusive  settlement  shall  be  made,  that  the 
final  decision  be  left  to  me. 

Hence,  wait  on !  Wait  ?  Wait  for  what  miracle  ? 
Is  not,  in  all  that  I  already  know,  all  that  is  barely 
concealed  under  the  form  of  discussions  and  negotia- 
tions, the  **No"  of  the  gentlemen  in  Berlin  clearly 
audible?  And,  indeed,  if  they  are  to  retain  the 
power  they  have  usurped,  can  they  act  otherwise? 
And  if  I  wish  our  poor  and  oft-tried  country  to  have 
peace,  can  I  repudiate  their  "No"? 

One  unforgetable  impression  of  that  day  I  must 


334    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

record  here:  It  is  evening.  Sunk  in  agonizing 
thought,  I  am  walking  alone  in  the  park  of  the  cha- 
teau. I  have  taken  refuge  in  this  solitude  and  seclu- 
sion in  order  to  look  in  the  face  the  finalities  which 
are  about  to  be  consummated. 

And  I  reason  thus.  When  that  "No,"  which  is 
surely  coming,  has  robbed  you  of  your  place  beside 
your  comrades,  and  has  reft  from  you  your  re- 
sponsibilities and  duties  as  an  active  soldier — ^what 
then?  Are  you  then  to  take  one  of  the  trains  at 
Liege  or  Herbesthal  and  travel  to  Berlin  in  order  not 
to  become  the  nucleus  of  disturbances  by  remaining 
with  the  troops  ?  Will  you  live  there  as  an  idle  gen- 
tleman passively  watching  them — in  the  wild  frenzy 
and  raving  delirium  of  their  jaded,  goaded  and  mis- 
guided brains — ^violate  all  that  tradition  had  made 
so  sacred  to  you  and  to  them?  Or  would  you  like 
to  be  there  as  the  person  on  whom  all  their  quarrels 
turned  ? 

"No!"  But  a  way  opens  out  at  the  moment 
when  you  are  forced  by  their  "No"  to  give  up  your 
desire  to  return  home  with  the  troops,  at  the  moment 
when  you  are  deposed  by  the  new  rulers  and  dis- 
charged from  the  service.  That  way  is  the  way 
across  the  frontier. 

Over  there,  away  from  all  fermenting  conflicts, 
you  might  wait  a  few  weeks  till  the  worst  of  the 
storm  is  over  and  reason  and  discernment  have  helped 
to  restore  order.    Then,  at  the  latest,  on  the  con- 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  335 

elusion  of  peace,  you  could  return  to  your  wife  and 
children  and  to  the  fresh  labors  which  await  you 
and  every  other  German. 

I  think  of  my  father,  whom,  in  this  way,  I  should 
see  again 

And  the  whole  bitterness  of  this  separation  and 
this  exile  comes  over  me. 

Early  dusk  veils  the  autumn  trees;  sleet  is  falling, 
and  a  penetrating  chill  arises  from  the  wet,  moulder- 
ing leaves  and  the  soddened  earth. 

Suddenly,  along  the  road  outside,  a  company 
marches  by.  The  men  are  singing  our  fine  old 
soldiers'  song,  "Nach  der  Heimat  mocht'  ich  wie- 
der " 

Singing!  Marching!  "Good  God,"  I  think  to 
myself.  I  struggle  with  my  feelings  as  best  I  can; 
but  they  are  too  strong  for  me,  I  cannot  resist  them. 

Still  they  sing — softer  now  and  more  distant 

I  kept  up  until  then.  But  that — in  the  darkness 
and  solitude  in  which  no  one  could  see — that  over- 
came me. 

Late  in  the  evening  arrived  the  declaration  of  the 
Government  that,  having  heard  the  advice  of  War 
Minister  General  Scheuch,  they  must  refuse  to 
allow  me  to  remain  any  longer  in  the  Higher  Com- 
mand of  the  Army  Group.  The  new  commander- 
in-chief  had  no  further  use  for  me.  And  so  nothing 
was  left  but  to  write  my  farewell  letter.  It  ran  as 
follows: 


336    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Headquarters  of  the  Crown  Prince  Army  Group 

"German  Crown  Prince,"  November  11,  1918. 
Dear  Field-Marshal  General, 

In  these  days — the  most  grievous  of  my  father's 
life  and  of  mine — I  must  beg  to  take  leave  of  Your 
Excellency  in  this  way.  With  deep  emotion,  I  have 
been  forced  to  the  decision  to  avail  myself  of  the 
sanction  accorded  by  Your  Excellency  to  my  relin- 
quishing my  post  of  commander-in-chief,  and  shall, 
for  the  present,  take  up  residence  abroad.  It  is 
only  after  a  severe  inward  struggle  that  I  have  been 
able  to  reconcile  myself  to  this  step;  for  it  tears 
every  fibre  of  my  heart  not  to  be  able  to  lead  back 
home  my  Army  Group  and  my  brave  troops  to  whom 
the  Fatherland  owes  such  an  infinite  debt. 

I  consider  it  important,  however,  once  again  to 
give  Your  Excellency,  at  this  hour,  a  brief  sketch  of 
my  attitude;  and  I  beg  Your  Excellency  to  make 
whatever  use  of  my  words  may  seem  at  all  fitting  to 
you. 

Contrary  to  many  unjust  opinions  which  have  en- 
deavored to  represent  me  as  having  always  been  a 
war-inciter  and  reactionary,  I  have,  from  the  outset, 
advocated  the  view  that  this  war  was,  for  us,  a  war 
of  defense;  and,  in  the  years  1916,  1917  and  1918,  I 
often  emphasized,  both  by  word  of  mouth  and  in 
writing,  the  opinion  that  Germany  ought  to  seek  to 
end  the  war  and  that  she  should  be  glad  if  she  could 
maintain  her  status  quo  against  the  entire  world. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  337 

So  far  as  home  politics  are  concerned,  I  have  been 
the  last  to  oppose  a  liberal  development  of  our  con- 
stitution. This  conception  I  communicated  in  writ- 
ing to  the  Imperial  Chancellor,  Prince  Max  of  Baden, 
only  a  few  days  ago.  Nevertheless,  when  the  vio- 
lence of  events  swept  my  father  from  the  throne,  I 
was  not  merely  not  heard,  but,  as  Crown  Prince  and 
heir-apparent,  simply  ignored. 

I  therefore  request  Your  Excellency  to  take  notice 
that  I  enter  a  formal  protest  against  this  violation 
of  my  person,  my  rights  and  my  claims. 

In  spite  of  these  facts,  I  held  to  my  view  that, 
considering  the  severe  shocks  which  the  army  was 
bound  to  sustain  through  the  loss  of  its  Kaiser  and 
Chief  War  Lord  as  well  as  through  the  ignominious 
terms  of  the  armistice,  I  ought  to  remain  at  my  post 
in  order  to  spare  it  the  fresh  disappointment  of  see- 
ing the  Crown  Prince  also  discharged  from  his  posi- 
tion as  military  commander-in-chief.  In  this,  too, 
I  was  led  by  the  idea  that,  even  though  my  own 
person  might  be  exposed  to  the  most  painful  conse- 
quences and  conflicts,  the  holding  together  of  my 
Army  Group  would  avert  further  disaster,  from  our 
Fatherland,  whom  we  all  serve.  These  consequences 
to  myself  I  should  have  endured  in  the  conviction 
that  I  was  doing  my  country  a  service.  But  the 
attitude  of  the  present  Government  had  also  neces- 
sarily to  be  taken  into  account  in  deciding  whether 
I  was  to  continue  in  my  military  command.    From 


338    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

that  Government  I  have  received  notice  that  no 
further  military  activity  on  my  part  is  looked  for, 
although  I  should  have  been  prepared  to  accept 
any  employment.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  I  have 
remained  at  my  post  as  long  as  my  honor  as  officer 
and  soldier  required  of  me. 

Your  Excellency  will,  at  the  same  time,  take 
notice  that  copies  of  this  letter  have  been  despatched 
to  the  Minister  of  the  Royal  Household,  the  Prussian 
State  Ministry,  the  Vice-president  of  the  House  of 
Deputies,  the  President  of  the  House  of  Lords,  the 
Chef  du  Cabinet  militaire,  the  Chef  du  Cabinet  civil 
and  a  few  of  the  military  leaders  with  whom  I  am 
more  intimately  acquainted. 

I  bid  Your  Excellency  farewell  with  the  ardent 
wish  that  our  beloved  Fatherland  may  find  the  way 
out  of  these  severe  storms  to  internal  recovery  and 
to  a  new  and  better  future.  In  conclusion,  I  am, 
Yours, 

(Signed)  WILHELM, 
Crown  Prince  of  the  German 
Empire  and  of  Prussia. 
To   His   Excellency,  Field-Marshal   General 

von  Hindenburg,  Chief  of  the  General  Staff 

of  the  Field  Army.  General  Headquarters. 

Soon  after  these  incidents,  I  felt  the  desire  to  have 
a  short  account  prepared  of  all  that  had  taken  place, 
including  more  especially  the  progress  of  the  nego- 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  339 

tiations  between  my  Army  Group  in  Vielsalm  and 
the  Government  in  Berlin  during  my  stay  at  Third 
Army  Headquarters.  As  a  supplement  to  the  de- 
scription given  by  me,  I  insert  here  the  account 
drawn  up  and  signed  by  my  chief  of  staff,  Major- 
General  Count  von  der  Schulenburg  and  my  two 
acting  adjutants  Miiller  and  Miildner: — 

Account  of  the  Events  of  the  10th  and  11th  of 
November,  1918. 

On  November  10,  1918,  the  chief  of  the  General 
Staff  of  the  Army  Group  under  the  German  Crown 
Prince,  Major-General  Count  Schulenburg  urgently 
advised  His  Imperial  Highness,  the  Crown  Prince, 
to  remain  at  the  head  of  the  Army  Group.  The 
Commanders-in-Chief  v.  Einem,  von  Boehn,  v. 
Eberhardt  and  von  Hutier,  some  of  whom  appeared 
personally  in  the  headquarters  of  the  Army  Group, 
indorsed  this  view,  each  expressing  his  opinion  in- 
dependently to  the  Crown  Prince.  On  November 
10  the  Crown  Prince  betook  himself  to  the  front, 
viz.,  to  Third  Army  Headquarters,  in  order  not  to 
come  prematurely  into  contact  with  various  signs  of 
demoralization. 

In  Vielsalm,  the  headquarters  of  the  Army  Group, 
a  conference  was  held,  on  November  11,  with  His 
Excellency  von  Hintze,  in  which  Count  Schulenburg 
and  the  two  personal  adjutants.  Major  von  Miiller 


340    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

and  Major  von  Miildner,  took  part.  Count  Schu- 
lenburg  advocated  the  Crown  Prince's  remaining 
at  the  head  of  his  Army  Group.  He  pointed  out 
that  the  field-marshal  and  Groner  were  also  of  this 
opinion.  In  general,  the  two  personal  adjutants 
agreed  with  this  view,  but  they  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that,  before  his  departure  for  Holland,  the 
Kaiser  had  declared  that,  under  no  circumstances, 
must  civil  war  be  inflamed  in  Germany.  Willingly 
or  unwillingly,  however,  now  that  the  Kaiser  had 
crossed  into  Dutch  territory,  the  Crown  Prince,  as 
things  stood,  would,  in  all  probability,  become  the 
cause  of  such  civil  war. 

Even  if  this  factor  were  excluded,  it  might  be 
assimied  with  certainty  that  the  new  Government 
would  bring  about,  with  all  convenient  speed,  the 
termination  of  so  commanding  a  military  part  as 
that  held  by  the  Crown  Prince.  At  the  latest,  this 
would  have  to  take  place  at  the  Rhine;  and  then 
there  would  no  longer  be  left  to  the  Crown  Prince 
any  decision  as  to  his  further  actions.  He  would 
presumably  be  forced  to  accept  any  conditions  im- 
posed upon  him  and  would  not  even  have  any  choice 
as  to  his  future  domicile.  If  he  chose  it  in  Germany 
he  would  always  remain  the  nucleus  of  movements 
that  might  lead  to  incalculable  consequences.  His 
Excellency  von  Hintze  declared  that  the  question 
of  whether  the  Prince  was  to  remain  or  depart  was 
one  to  be  decided  by  the  responsible  military  au- 
thorities.   It  was  agreed  to  inquire  of  the  Govern- 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  341 

ment,  and  His  Excellency  von  Hintze  offered  to 
transmit  the  question.  He  requested  the  Imperial 
Chancellor  to  come  to  the  telephone.  The  chan- 
cellor was  at  a  sitting  and  could  not  be  spoken  to. 
His  place  was  taken  by  Herr  von  Prittwitz  and 
Herr  Baacke.  While  His  Excellency  von  Hintze 
was  talking  with  these  gentlemen,  Count  Schulen- 
burg  dictated  to  Major  von  Miildner  the  inquiry 
put  to  the  Government  by  the  Crown  Prince: — 
"The  Crown  Prince  has  a  fervent  desire  to  remain 
at  the  head  of  his  Army  Group  and,  in  these  serious 
times,  to  do  his  duty  like  every  other  soldier.  He 
will  lead  his  troops  back  home  in  strict  order  and 
discipline,  and  he  engages  to  undertake  nothing 
against  the  Government  in  these  times.  What  is 
the  attitude  of  the  Government  in  this  matter?" 
His  Excellency  von  Hintze  telephoned  this  inquiry 
to  Herr  Baacke,  who  wrote  it  down  and  verified  it. 
During  these  negotiations,  the  Crown  Prince  called 
for  Count  Schulenburg  and  His  Excellency  von 
Hintze  and  demanded  that  no  final  arrangements 
should  be  made  and  that,  in  any  case,  he  reserved 
to  himself  the  decision. 

Late  in  the  evening.  Major  von  Miildner  received 
a  telephone  message  to  the  effect  that,  after  having 
consulted  the  war  minister,  Scheuch,  the  Govern- 
ment must  answer  the  inquiry  of  the  Crown  Prince 
in  the  negative,  and  that  they  had  no  intention  of 
leaving  the  Crown  Prince  in  command. 

Thereupon,  and  with  the  consent  of  Field-Marshal 


342    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

von  Hindenburg,  the  Crown  Prince  laid  down  the 
command  and,  after  a  severe  internal  struggle,  re- 
solved in  favor  of  the  journey  to  Holland,  saying  to 
himself  that,  after  the  decision  already  formed,  his 
remaining  would  not  bring  about  any  change  in  the 
situation  but  would  only  aggravate  and  confuse  it, 
so  that  he  was  convinced  he  ought  to  make  this 
sacrifice  for  the  Fatherland. 

The  departure  took  place  in  the  forenoon  of  No- 
vember 12. 
Berlin,  April  4,  1919. 
(Signed) 

VON  MULLER, 

Major. 
MtlLDNER  VON  MULNHEIM, 

Major. 
COUNT  VON  DER  SCHULENBURG, 
Major-General. 

The  next  night  is  sleepless,  restless.  It  is  like  one 
long  horror  to  a  tortured  heart  which  must  now 
tear  itself  away  by  the  roots  from  its  affections,  hor- 
ror against  the  brain  which  vainly  racks  itself  for  a 
better  solution  of  the  problems. 

In  the  end,  only  one  thing  stands  clear,  namely, 
that  not  through  me  or  on  my  account  must  be  shed 
further  blood  at  home,  that  I  dare  not  be  a  hindrance 
to  any  possible  restoration  of  internal  tranquillity  or 
to  the  finding  of  a  peace  which  the  Fatherland  can 
bear. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  343 

We  intend  to  travel  in  the  early  morning — to 
travel  across  the  frontier  into  Holland.  Two  cars 
with  only  the  most  absolutely  indispensable  luggage. 
We  have  talked  about  it  for  days;  and  I  have 
thought  of  scarcely  anything  else  at  night;  yet  now 
that  it  faces  me  in  all  its  reality,  I  can  hardly  realize 
it. 

Quite  quietly  and  with  but  few  words,  I  should 
like  to  leave  the  Third  Army  Headquarters.  What 
can  be  said  has  been  said.  And  every  military  duty 
has  been  fulfilled  up  to  the  last  moment.  The  com- 
mand of  the  Army  Group  hitherto  intrusted  to  me 
passed  to  Lieutenant-General  von  Einem  with  the 
advent  of  the  armistice.  Departure — stem  com- 
pulsion ordains  it.  Why  make  the  heart  still 
heavier  ? 

But,  when  I  enter  the  hall,  the  whole  Head- 
quarters Staff  is  there  in  full  regimentals  and  with 
their  helmets  on — all  of  them,  even  the  clerks  and 
orderlies.  In  front  of  them,  leaning  upon  his  sword, 
stands  the  fine  old  colonel-general,  von  Einem;  next 
to  him  is  his  chief  of  staff,  my  good  Klewitz — that 
admirable  soldier,  never  daunted  though  things  were 
often  so  black!  Only  that,  in  his  sturdy  features, 
there  is  something  I  have  never  seen  there  before. 

Einem  speaks — encouraging,  deeply  felt  words,  be- 
lief in  a  new  future!  Three  cheers  for  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Army  Group  fill  the  hall 
and  re-echo  above  my  head. 


344    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  Group?  Am 
I  that  still?  Perhaps  at  this  moment  the  field- 
marshal  general  holds  my  letter  of  resignation  in 
his  hands. 

I  cannot  speak,  cannot  answer.  I  press  the  hands 
of  the  old  and  well-tried  officers;  and  I  see  tears  on 
the  cheeks  of  the  men. 

We  must  be  off. 

On  the  way,  we  have  to  halt  with  the  staff  of  the 
First  Army,  which  has  its  quarters  in  the  picturesque 
Rochefort  Chateau  in  the  Ardennes,  not  far  from 
Namur.  There,  at  General  von  Eberhardt's — the 
general  was  for  a  long  time  a  trusty  leader  in  my 
Army  Group — I  have  to  meet  my  chief  of  staff. 
Thus,  I  have  another  bitter  farewell  to  take  from 
him  also,  from  the  man  who,  during  the  severest 
period  of  the  war,  stood  nearest  to  me  as  my  military 
assistant  and  adviser,  and  to  whom,  for  all  that  he 
gave  me  as  a  soldier  and  a  man,  I  am  so  deeply 
indebted. 

We  are  all  deeply  moved  as  I  now  sign  the  last 
army  order  to  my  troops. 

"To  my  Armies! 
"His  Majesty  the  Kaiser  having  laid  down  the 
supreme  command  and  the  armistice  being  con- 
cluded, I  am  compelled  by  circumstances  to  retire 
from  the  leadership  of  my  Army  Group.  As  ever 
heretofore,  so  also  to-day  I  can  only  thank  my  brave 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  345 

armies  and  each  man  in  them  from  the  bottom  of 
my  heart  for  the  heroic  courage,  self-sacrifice  and 
resignation  with  which,  in  prosperity  and  in  adver- 
sity, they  have  faced  every  danger  and  endured 
every  privation  for  the  Fatherland. 

The  Army  Group  has  not  been  defeated  by  force 
of  arms !  Hunger  and  bitter  distress  have  conquered 
us!  Proudly  and  with  heads  erect,  my  Army 
Group  can  leave  the  soil  of  France  which  the  best 
German  blood  had  won.  Their  escutcheon  is  un- 
blemished, their  honor  untainted.  Let  every  one 
see  to  it  that  they  remain  so,  both  now  and  later 
in  the  homeland. 

Four  long  years  I  was  permitted  to  be  with  my 
armies  in  victory  and  in  distress;  four  long  years 
my  whole  heart  was  given  up  to  my  troops.  Deeply 
moved,  I  part  from  them  to-day,  and  I  bow  my 
head  before  the  splendor  of  their  mighty  deeds 
which  history  will  some  day  write  in  words  of  flame 
for  later  generations. 

Be  true  to  your  leaders  as  you  have  been  heretofore, 
till  the  command  comes  which  shall  set  you  free 
for  wife  and  child,  for  hearth  and  for  home.  God 
be  with  you  and  with  our  German  Fatherland ! 

"WILHELM, 
"The  Commander-in-Chief, 
"Crown  Prince  of  the  German  Empire 
and  of  Prussia." 


346    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

And  now  the  moment  of  separation  has  come  here 
too.    I  can  scarcely  tear  myself  away. 

But  it  must  be — my  people  urge  me.  Miildner 
has  been  holding  a  cap  ready  for  me  for  some  time 
— a  gray  infantry  cap;  he  thinks,  I  suppose,  that  I 
shall  not  notice  what  it  is  in  this  torment  and  dis- 
traction; he  wishes  to  disguise  me  with  it,  in  his 
affectionate  care  imagining  that  I  shall  be  safer  and 
less  easily  recognized  in  that  unaccustomed  color. 

"No,  I  want  my  Hussar  cap  for  this  last  journey, 
too !    No  one  will  do  me  any  harm !" 

And  now  they  pretend  to  be  unable  to  find  it. 
But  I  wait;  and,  at  last,  the  black  one  with  the 
death's-head  turns  up  and  I  don  it  once  again. 

I  look  into  their  faithful  eyes;  we  can  only  nod; 
words  stick  in  the  throat.  Schulenburg  jerks  out: 
"If  you  see  my  lord  and  Kaiser  over  there  in  Hol- 
land   "  then  he  falters,  too. 

The  motor  whirs;  and  we  start. 

We  drive  through  the  back  areas  of  two  disin- 
tegrating armies,  districts  which  are  disengaging 
themselves  in  mad  haste  from  the  firmly  established 
order  of  a  four  years'  campaign. 

Our  cars  are  gray;  they  carry  my  three  trusty 
companions  and  myself  to  the  bitter  end.  In  the 
front  car  are  Miiller  and  Miildner,  I  following  them 
in  the  other  car  with  the  sick  Zobeltitz. 

There  are  soldiers  everywhere,  saluting  and  shout- 
ing.   No,  I  was  right;  no  one  will  interfere  with  me. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  347 

I  return  their  salutes;  and  I  can't  help  thinking, 
again  and  again:  **If  you  lads  only  knew  how  I 
feel  just  now." 

Our  route  goes  via  Andenne  to  Tongem.  Belgian 
soil;  everywhere  the  Belgian  flags  are  flying  in  the 
towns,  and  the  population  is  celebrating. 

Moreover,  the  look  of  our  own  people  changes  as 
we  get  farther  and  farther  from  the  front.  Crowds 
of  men  who  once  were  soldiers  now  drift  along  with- 
out discipline.  Shouts  that  are  no  longer  friendly 
greet  our  ears.  There  is  the  incessant  repetition  of 
the  silly  catchwords  of  those  days;  swaggering  and 
bragging,  each  boaster  tries  to  outdo  the  other  in 
his  display  of  rebelliousness,  shouting:  **  Knives  out !" 
"Gofor'im!"     "Blood  up!" 

But  we  are  stopped  nowhere. 

At  one  spot  we  pass  a  cattle  transport  driven  by 
"Landsturm"  men.  One  old  chap,  passing  close  to 
the  car  and  waving  a  red  flag  above  his  oxen,  curses 
me  roundly;  the  officers,  he  says,  are  to  blame  for  it 
all;  they've  kept  hey-day — he  is  half  famished! — 
That  is  really  too  much  for  me,  and  I  give  the  miser- 
able man  such  a  dressing-down  that,  trembling  and 
white  as  a  sheet,  he  makes  salute  after  salute. 
Wretched  rabble  that  have  never  faced  the  enemy 
and  are  now  playing  at  revolution ! 

Just  before  Vroenhoven  we  see  the  last  German 
troops;  **Landsturm,"  they  are  making  off  toward 
home. 


348    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Near  Vroenhoven  we  halt  in  the  Dutch  barbed 
wire. 

My  heart  thumps  loudly  as  I  jump  out  of  the  car. 
I  am  thoroughly  conscious  that  the  few  paces  before 
me  are  decisive.  As  though  all  crowded  together  in 
one  moment,  the  pitiless  and  tormenting  scenes  of 
the  last  few  days  stand  once  again  before  me:  Spa; 
the  Kaiser;  the  field-marshal;  Groner's  face;  my 
Schulenburg,  adjuring  and  undauntedly  opposing  the 
others;  my  father's  letter;  and  the  decision  from 
Berlin  which  gives  me  my  discharge  and  cuts  the 
ground  from  under  my  feet. 

No,  it  must  be;  it  must  be;  there  is  no  other  way. 

Suddenly  there  come  into  my  mind  the  words 
that  General  von  Falkenhayn  used  to  call  out  to 
me  when,  as  a  boy,  I  had  to  take  some  difficult  ob- 
stacle with  my  horse:  "Fling  your  heart  across  first; 
the  rest  will  follow." 

Then  I  take  the  few  steps  in  front  of  me. 

Veiled,  blurred  and  uncertain  is  my  impression  of 
what  followed  next.  People  surround  me,  comrades 
(Miiller  deadly  earnest;  and  Miildner,  self-possessed, 
soldierly,  practical  and  clear  as  ever)  and  stran- 
gers. 

There  is  a  young,  perfectly  correct  Dutch  officer, 
who  at  first  is  so  surprised  that  he  cannot  grasp  the 
situation  and  does  not  know  what  to  do  with  us. 
But  he  sees  that  we  cannot  remain  here;  conse- 
quently, we  are  taken  past  a  presenting  guard  into  a 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  349 

small  inn,  where  amiable  and  silent  attendants  serve 
us  with  hot  coffee. 

Meantime  Maastricht  is  rung  up.  The  young  offi- 
cer returns.  He  is,  himself,  oppressed  by  the  duty 
incumbent  upon  him:  he  must  request  the  surrender 
of  our  weapons.  Then  follows  a  moment  of  intense 
bitterness,  which  is  rendered  endurable  only  by  the 
tact  of  the  petitioner. 

Baron  von  Hiinefeld  and  Baron  Grote  come  over 
from  Maastricht.  Soon  Colonel  Schroder  of  the 
military  police  arrives  with  his  adjutant.  Our  fur- 
ther destiny  lies  in  his  hands.  He  acts  energeti- 
cally. Telephones  ring  and  telegrams  are  des- 
patched. Reports,  inquiries,  regulations  to  be  ob- 
served.   Thus  our  destiny  begins  to  shape  itself. 

In  any  case,  we  are  first  to  proceed  to  the  prefec- 
ture in  Maastricht  and  to  await  the  Government's 
decision  at  the  residence  of  the  governor  of  the 
Province  of  Limburg. 

Again  we  drive  off.  Everything  is  warlike  here 
also.  The  streets  of  the  town  are  blocked  with 
guards,  wires  and  chevaux-de-frise.  The  news  of 
our  arrival,  too,  has  spread  with  incredible  celerity; 
and  the  people  regard  us  with  sinister  looks.  "The 
Boches  are  here !    The  Crown  Prince ! " 

It  is  nearly  one  o'clock  when  we  enter  the  prefec- 
ture. 

On  the  square  below  is  a  raging,  yelling  crowd, 
consisting  mostly  of  Belgians. 


350    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

Baron  van  Hoevel  tot  Westerflier  receives  us  with 
a  thoroughly  humane  and  magnanimous  comprehen- 
sion of  our  position,  and  endeavors  in  every  way  to 
alleviate  our  melancholy  situation.  He,  too,  de- 
clares that  our  arrival  has  come  as  a  complete  sur- 
prise to  the  Dutch  Government  and  that  further  de- 
cisions must  be  awaited.  He  then  leaves  us  alone  in 
the  cold  splendor  of  the  large  hall  of  the  prefecture. 

However  tactfully  it  may  be  done,  however  skil- 
fully the  veil  may  be  drawn  over  the  reality,  one  feels 
oneself  to  be,  after  all,  a  prisoner,  to  be  no  longer  a 
free  man,  master  of  one's  own  decisions,  to  be  a 
person  who  may  be  compelled  to  stay  or  forced  to 
go.  To  all  the  other  torments  is  now  added  the 
feeling  that  one  wears  invisible  shackles. 

We  sit  doing  nothing  round  the  table  on  highly 
ceremonious  chairs;  or  we  range  restlessly  round  the 
room,  or  stare  silently  out  of  the  tall  window. 

What  is  going  to  happen  now? 

The  hands  of  the  timepiece  seem  scarcely  to  move; 
sometimes  I  think  they  have  stopped  altogether. 

And,  to  make  things  worse,  good  Zobeltitz,  poor 
fellow,  lies  doubled  up  with  pain  on  the  plush-cov- 
ered bench. 

Occasionally  one  of  us  talks — rather  to  himself 
than  to  the  rest.  It  is  always  the  same  thing,  one 
of  those  thoughts  that  go  buzzing  through  our  heads 
and  which  we  cannot  properly  grasp;  and  no  one 
makes  any  answer. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  351 

Now  and  then  there  is  a  knock  at  the  door. 
Every  one  is  filled  with  expectation.  But  it  is  noth- 
ing; only  the  governor  sending  to  inquire  after  our 
wishes  or  the  commandant  of  police  informing  us 
that  he  is  still  waiting  for  instructions. 

And  again  we  are  alone,  our  thoughts  busy  with 
the  past  from  which  we  are  physically  separated,  or 
turned  towards  the  future  into  which  we  cannot  see. 
Broodingly  we  ask  ourselves:  "What  is  happening 
behind  us  while  we  wait  here  like  caged  animals? 
What  in  the  field,  among  the  men  who  have  been 
our  comrades  for  four  and  a  half  years?  What  in 
the  homeland?  What  at  home  among  our  wives 
and  children  ? 

Zobel  has  got  up  with  difRculty  and  is  creeping 
about  the  room.  Now  and  again  his  honest,  dark 
eyes  catch  mine.  In  spite  of  all  the  tortures  of  his 
stomach,  which  ought  to  have  been  under  the  sur- 
geon's knife  long  ago,  he  looks  at  me  as  though  he 
would  fain  do  something  for  me.  Then  he  stops 
in  a  comer  before  the  white  bust  of  William  of 
Orange,  who  gazes  down  comfortably  and  in  dignity 
from  his  pedestal.  Zobeltitz  nods  to  him  and  says 
philosophically:  "Aye,  aye,  my  dear  Van  Houten, 
you  never  dreamed  it  would  come  to  this,  did  you?" 

How  much  bitterness  may  not  be  mitigated  by 
such  a  sudden  sally  of  humor  in  the  midst  of  de- 
spair! The  martyrdom  of  waiting  is  almost  ren- 
dered easier. 


352    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

The  Baron  has  dinner  served  for  us.  Notwith- 
standing all  our  protestations,  a  real  dinner.  It  is 
all  so  well  meant;  but,  in  the  mood  which  now  holds 
us  in  its  clutches,  we  can  scarcely  swallow  a  mouthful. 

At  last,  by  midnight,  things  are  settled.  We  are, 
for  the  present,  to  find  shelter  in  Hillenraadt  Castle 
belonging  to  Count  Mettemich. 

Again  we  are  in  open  cars,  with  the  police  officer 
beside  us.  The  streets  through  which  we  pass  are 
cordoned  off  by  patrols  of  marees  chaussees,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  wise  and  proper  orders  of  Colonel 
Schroder. 

A  bitterly  cold  fog  lies  over  the  landscape  and 
makes  the  night  still  more  impenetrable.  Only  the 
searchlights  bore  white  funnels  in  the  dark  into 
which  we  hasten.  It  is  as  though,  at  one  moment, 
they  threaten  to  swallow  us  up,  and  the  next  have 
hurried  phantom-like  away. 

Two  hours  pass  thus. 

Then  we  stop  before  the  Count's  castle  near  Roer- 
mond. 

We  remove  our  coats  in  the  great  hall  which  is 
faintly  lighted  by  candles.  Stiff  with  cold  we  are, 
wretched  at  heart  and  rootless  on  foreign  soil. 

Suddenly,  the  lady  of  the  house  descends  the 
stairs — ^young,  blonde,  dressed  all  in  black,  a  chain 
of  pearls  round  her  slender  neck.  All  feeling  of 
strangerhood  vanishes  before  those  warm  and  sym- 
pathetic eyes. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  353 

From  that  moment  onward  throughout  the  un- 
speakably difficult  ten  days  which  we  spend  in  Hil- 
lenraadt  Castle,  this  kind  woman  looks  after  us 
with  the  most  delicate  tact,  and  becomes  to  me  a 
good  friend  with  whom  I  can  talk  over  many  a  tor- 
turing question.  The  Countess  is  a  believing  Cath- 
olic and  suffers  severely  under  the  misfortune  which 
has  come  upon  our  country;  moreover,  she  is  deeply 
anxious  about  her  husband,  who,  during  these  days 
of  revolution,  is  in  Berlin. 

Thus  pass  ten  days,  during  which,  while  bad  news 
follows  bad  news  from  the  field  and  from  home, 
negotiations  are  carried  on  with  the  Dutch  Govern- 
ment concerning  our  future.  In  the  course  of  these 
proceedings,  it  appears  that  outward  circumstances 
compel  Holland  to  couple  the  question  of  my  intern- 
ment with  my  arrival  and  my  wish  to  sojourn  tem- 
porarily on  neutral  soil.  Only  under  guarantees  to 
the  outside  world  is  it  possible  for  the  neutral  State 
to  afford  him  hospitality  or  to  endeavor  to  oppose 
the  demands  already  being  made  for  my  "extradi- 
tion." Thus,  I  have  suddenly  found  myself  in  a 
position  of  constraint.  In  view  of  the  conclusion 
of  the  armistice  on  November  11,  the  possibility  of 
such  a  situation  arising  never  occurred  to  any  one 
in  considering  the  pros  and  cons  of  my  journey — 
neither  to  me,  nor  my  chief  of  staff,  nor  the  gentle- 
men about  me,  nor  the  state  secretary  of  the  For- 
eign Office,  nor  His  Excellency  von  Hintze,  nor  the 


354    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

General  Higher  Command.  We  all  cherished  the 
assured  conviction  that  I  could  claim  exactly  the 
same  rights  as  all  the  gentlemen  of  the  Imperial 
suite,  none  of  whom  had  been  interned  or  were  to 
be  interned,  and  whose  movements  were  left  to  their 
own  discretion.  Despite  the  difficulties  and  tor- 
ments involved,  these  discussions  and  negotiations 
are  conducted  by  the  representatives  of  the  Dutch 
Government  in  a  spirit  of  genuine  humaneness.  In 
full  accord  with  the  character  of  the  Dutch  people, 
every  one  of  the  men  with  whom  we  came  into  con- 
tact over  the  matter  proved  to  be  just,  impartial 
and  ready  to  stand  up  for  his  own  personal  convic- 
tion. 

At  length,  we  receive  some  sort  of  indication  as 
to  my  future.  Colonel  Schroder  brings  me  news 
that  the  Dutch  Government  have  appointed  the 
Isle  of  Wieringen  for  my  residence. 

Wierigen  ?    The  Isle  of  Wieringen  ? 

No  one  in  the  house  knows  where  the  island  may 
be. 

Wieringen  ? 

I  hear  the  name  for  the  first  time  in  my  life;  I 
can  form  no  notion  of  it,  attach  no  idea  to  it. 

And  now,  as  I  write  these  reminiscences,  I  have 
been  living  for  nearly  three  years  on  this  small  spot 
of  sea-girt  earth. 

Even  this  last  phase  of  the  journey  into  exile  is 
full  of  little  hindrances,  vexations  and  annoyances. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  355 

Early  in  the  morning  we  bid  farewell  to  our  kind 
Countess  as  the  train  leaves  Roermond  Station  at 
seven  o'clock.  A  Dutch  captain  is  appointed  as 
our  companion. 

Towards  one  o'clock,  we  are  in  Amsterdam — 
many  inquisitive  people  throng  the  station,  and 
there  is  a  cordon  of  soldiers — and  by  three  o'clock 
we  reach  Enkhuizen,  an  out-of-the-way  place  on  the 
shores  of  the  Zuyder  Zee.  As  we  had  learned  on 
the  way,  a  steam-yacht  of  the  Administration  of 
Hydraulic  Engineering  is  to  meet  us  here  and  take 
us  across  to  the  Isle  of  Wieringen. 

But,  in  the  fog,  the  yacht  has  run  herself  on  a 
sand-bank  off  Enkhuizen  and  begs  to  be  excused. 
During  my  consequent  enforced  stay  at  Enkhuizen, 
the  population  gives  utterance  to  its  feelings  in  cries, 
yells,  hoots,  and  curses.  By  an  unmistakable  ges- 
ture towards  the  neck  followed  by  an  upward  move- 
ment of  the  hand,  the  crowd,  with  a  remarkable 
expenditure  of  mimicry,  makes  it  clear  to  me  how 
thoroughly  the  caricature  of  my  person  produced 
and  disseminated  by  Entente  propaganda  has  fixed 
itself  in  their  minds.  In  any  case,  all  this  does  not 
exactly  tend  to  enliven  one's  feelings. 

After  a  long  palaver,  it  is  eventually  decided  to 
go  on  board  a  little  steam-tug  and  to  search  for  our 
yacht. 

So  off  we  go.  The  fog  on  the  Zuyder  Zee  is  so 
thick  that  we  can  scarcely  see  twenty  yards  ahead. 


356    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

and  an  icy  wind  is  blowing  from  the  open  sea.  We 
stand  on  the  deck  of  the  little  pitching  and  rolling 
steamer  and  stare  into  the  fog  for  hours  together. 
It  is  a  cheerless  business. 

At  last  we  find  the  yacht.  But  there  is  not  much 
comfort  to  be  gained  from  her.  Her  screw  is  broken. 
First,  we  have  to  tug  her  off.  Then  she  is  lashed 
alongside  the  tug;  and  we  are  then,  it  would  seem, 
in  a  position  to  steer  for  Wieringen. 

Aye,  if  we  only  knew  where  Wieringen  lay.  In 
the  fog  and  the  deepening  darkness  and  the  heavy 
storm  and  the  turbulent  sea,  our  magnificent  navi- 
gators spend  hours  in  searching  for  the  island.  But 
the  island  cannot  be  found;  it  has  vanished,  as  though 
devoured  by  the  sea  and  the  fog.  In  the  end,  some- 
where about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  they  give  up  the 
search  and  decide  to  drop  anchor  till  the  morning. 
But  this  again  proves  to  be  fool's  wisdom,  for  the 
sea  is  so  rough  that  the  two  ships  are  continually 
bumped  against  one  another.  A  number  of  rivets 
have  already  been  loosened,  and,  if  things  go  on 
like  this,  there  is  every  prospect  of  our  being 
drowned — man  and  mouse.  And  so  up  comes  the 
anchor  again ! 

Next  we  try  to  reach  the  harbor  of  Medemblik 
on  the  mainland,  and — ^bold  seafarers  being  often 
blessed  rather  with  good  luck  than  with  brains — ^we 
at  last  manage  to  get  there  towards  midnight. 

Wieringen  ?   Just  a  foretaste  which  prevented  our 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  357 

expectations  from  running  too  high;  that  was  all 
that  this  day  brought  us. 

But  next  day  the  effort  succeeded.  The  sea  hav- 
ing quieted  down,  we  go  aboard  in  the  morning  and 
make  the  island  about  noon  in  calm,  clear  winter 
weather. 

Indelible  is  the  impression  of  that  moment  in 
which  I  first  set  foot  upon  the  firm  ground  of  this 
little  comer  of  earth. 

The  harbor  is  again  crowded  with  people.  There 
are  the  quiet  and  distrustful  natives  of  the  place 
staring  at  this  curious  billeting;  and  there  are  re- 
porters from  all  parts  of  the  world  and  deft-handed 
photographers. 

It  makes  you  feel  like  some  rare  animal  that  has 
at  last  been  successfully  caught.  I  should  like  to 
say  to  each  of  these  busybodies:  "Ask  nothing, 
and  get  out  of  the  way  with  your  quizzing  camera. 
I  want  quiet;  I  want  to  collect  my  thoughts  and  to 
rearrange  my  ideas  after  all  this  disaster — ^and 
nothing  more!" 

In  a  primeval  vehicle— assuredly  the  best  the 
island  boasts — ^we  proceed  to  the  village  of  Ooster- 
land.  The  venerable  jolting-car  smells  of  oil  and 
mief  and  ancient  leather.  Even  still,  if  I  close  my 
eyes  and  recall  that  hour,  I  can  smell  that  ineradi- 
cable odor. 

We  are  set  down  at  the  little  parsonage,  which 
is  very  much  out  of  repair.  Everything  is  bare  and 
desolate. 


358    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

A  few  rickety  old  pieces  of  furniture — absolute 
cripples !  Chilliness  and  solitude  ensconced  like  phan- 
toms between  them. 

The  decrepit  chariot  outside  turns  groaning  and 
moaning  on  its  axles  and  jogs  off  homeward  through 
the  fog. 

Home ! — ^The  thought  of  it  almost  chokes  me. 

Days  and  weeks  ensue  that  are  so  cheerless  and 
leaden  as  to  be  almost  unbearable. 

Like  a  prisoner,  like  an  outlaw,  I  move  among 
this  small  group  of  people,  who  turn  away  their 
lowering,  shy  visages  as  they  pass  or,  at  most,  look 
askance  at  me  with  inquisitive  half-closed  eyes.  I 
am  the  bloodthirsty  baby-killer;  people  are  embit- 
tered against  the  Government  for  having  imposed 
such  a  burden  upon  this  honest  island  and  for  letting 
me  roam  about  it  untrammelled. 

The  burgomaster,  Peereboom,  has  his  work  cut 
out  for  him;  it  is  a  difficult  task  to  calm  these  agi- 
tated souls. 

And  absolutely  heart-rending  news  dribbles  in 
from  home  concerning  the  course  of  events!  We 
have  no  German  newspapers.  Only  from  Dutch 
journals — which  are  out-of-date  by  the  time  they 
reach  us — can  we  spell  out  the  tenor  of  the  London, 
Paris  and  Amsterdam  telegrams;  and  their  tenor  is 
** blood  and  tumult,"  the  palace  shelled  and  pil- 
laged, domination  by  the  sailors,  Spartacist  battles, 
a  threat  of  invasion  by  the  Entente. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  359 

One  would  like  to  cry  out  for  a  little  hope,  for  a 
little  light  to  be  granted  to  the  land  to  which  every 
fibre  of  one's  heart  is  attached  and  for  whose  peace 
and  security  one  would  willingly  make  every  sacri- 
fice! 

Sacrifice  ?  Yes,  they  ask  one  from  me,  of  which  I 
will  speak  here. 

On  December  1,  von  Pannwitz,  secretary  to  the 
German  Legation  at  The  Hague,  arrives  with  a 
fresh  demand  sent  by  the  new  German  Government. 
The  secretary  is  an  old  member  of  my  corps  in  my 
student  days  at  Bonn.  God  knows,  the  task  can 
scarcely  have  been  an  easy  one  for  him,  and  he 
doubtless  undertook  it  only  because  what  he  had  to 
tell  me  was  less  painful  to  listen  to  from  the  lips  of 
a  friend  than  from  those  of  a  stranger. 

He  is  to  obtain  from  me  a  formal  renunciation  of 
my  personal  claims. 

A  renunciation! — Why? — What  for? — The  gen- 
tlemen in  Berlin,  who  hold  the  power  in  their  hands 
and  who,  according  to  their  own  assertions,  represent 
the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  German  people,  have 
not  hitherto  been  so  pedantic  and  punctilious  in 
their  dealings  with  the  rights  of  the  Hohenzollems. 
Did  they  not,  on  November  9,  announce  the  abdica- 
tion of  His  Majesty  and  my  own  renunciation,  with- 
out waiting  for  the  Kaiser's  decision  or  even  advising 
me  ?  And  did  not  the  same  lips  which,  a  few  weeks 
before,  had  sworn  fealty  to  His  Majesty,  without  a 


360    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

scruple  proclaim  the  German  republic?  What  can 
my  renunciation  signify  to  those  gentlemen?  It 
has  not  been  their  custom  heretofore  to  trouble 
about  such  small  matters ! 

But  other  considerations  press  for  attention. 
What  is  the  true  foundation  of  the  rights  exercised 
by  a  ruler  who  regards  himself  as  the  chief  servant  of 
the  State,  or  by  the  prospective  heir  to  a  throne  who, 
according  to  traditional  law,  is  some  day  to  take 
over  that  service  ?  Is  it  merely  his  ancestry  and  his 
inherited  and  guaranteed  claims?  Or  is  it  not 
rather  only  by  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  nation 
which  intrusts  itself  voluntarily  to  the  leadership  of 
one  who  is  carrying  on  the  tradition  that  he  earns 
afresh  the  real  substance  of  those  actual  rights? 
Is  not  the  one  without  the  other  void  and  empty? 
And,  can  I,  without  further  consideration,  believe 
that  I  have  the  confidence  and  attachment  of  the 
majority  of  Germans,  after  our  collapse,  in  this  hour 
of  deepest  distress  and  humiliation,  when  so  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  see  before  them  a  portrait 
of  me  which  is  nothing  but  a  disfigurement,  a  vili- 
fication, a  distortion  of  my  true  self? — ^No,  that  is 
impossible ! 

Shall  I  present  to  my  German  Fatherland  the 
spectacle  of  one  who  persists  in  demanding  his  rights 
when  they  deny  him  the  best  elements  in  these 
rights — ^love  and  confidence?  Shall  I,  by  a  rigid 
insistence  upon  "my  bond,"  provide  a  war-cry  for 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  361 

all  those  who  stand  for  monarchy  in  the  State,  and 
that  at  a  time  when,  according  to  my  deepest  con- 
victions, the  Fatherland — ^whether  as  republic  or 
as  monarchy — demands  from  all  of  us  internal  sol- 
idarity against  the  rapacious  desires  of  the  "victors" 
around  us  and  work,  work,  work  ? — Once  more.  No ! 

And  if,  under  the  stress  of  circumstances  and  for 
the  benefit  of  the  whole,  the  individual  renounces  a 
prescriptive  right,  does  he  thereby  relinquish  any 
particle  of  that  sublimer  free  right  of  obeying  a  pos- 
sible summons  issued  to  him  by  the  will  of  the 
majority?  My  renunciation,  proceeding  from  my 
love  of  the  Fatherland,  cannot  be  regarded  as  blame- 
worthy. It  is  evidence  of  one  thing  only,  that  in 
the  fateful  hours,  with  the  enemy  at  our  gates  and 
divided  counsels  at  home,  when  the  great  need  of 
the  moment  was  to  save  the  country  from  further 
dissensions,  I  obeyed  the  demands  which  were  cal- 
culated to  serve  her  interests. 

And  so,  I  yielded  to  the  somewhat  belated  wishes 
of  the  new  Government;  but  I  repeat  that  it  was 
not  for  their  sakes  and  not  because  I  recognized 
any  of  the  traditional  rights  of  my  position  as 
in  any  way  affected  by  the  violent  doings  of  the 
revolution;  no,  it  was  because,  so  far  as  in  me  lies, 
I  desire,  as  much  as  any  one  of  my  compatriots, 
honestly  to  help  in  preventing  conflagration  and  in 
healing  and  strengthening  by  devotion  and  self- 
abnegation  our  so  severely  tried  Fatherland,  till  the 


362    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

hour  shall  come  in  which  I,  too,  may  take  active 
part  with  my  fellows  in  productive  labor  in  my 
home  country. 

September,  1921. 

I  have  perused  again  the  pages  describing  my 
journey  to  Holland  and  the  almost  unbearable  first 
weeks  of  my  sojourn  on  the  island  here.  Vividly 
present  is  the  recollection  of  that  painful  past.  And 
yet  it  is  so  distant — almost  three  years !  Those  who 
then  regarded  me  with  deep-rooted  distrust,  with 
reserve  and  even  with  repulsion  have  long  since  be- 
come friends  who  admit  me  to  their  joys  and  sor- 
rows, small  as  well  as  great, — friends  whose  simple 
and  straightforward  fairness  lightens  my  solitude  by 
many  a  token  of  genuine  good-will. 

It  is  true,  too,  that  the  tranquillity  and  seclusion 
of  the  island  have  doubtless  tended  to  deepen  and 
enrich  my  powers  of  discernment;  and  yet,  all  this 
and  all  that  the  Dutch  people  have  given  me  in 
their  hospitality  could  not  make  me  forget  my  Ger- 
man homeland.  My  old  love  for  her  and  my  long- 
ing for  the  people  who  are  my  kindred  are  as  strong 
in  me  as  ever. 

The  hour  of  fulfilment  has,  alas,  not  yet  struck, 
and  I  cannot  yet  actively  co-operate  in  the  work  of 
restoration;  all  I  can  do  is  to  await  that  hour  in 
self-control  and  patience,  enduring  meanwhile  the 
hardships  of  exile  and  solitude  without  complaint. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  363 

I  have  sketched  in  these  pages  the  most  important 
matters  of  my  life  up  till  now,  and  I  have  not  wit- 
tingly suppressed  any  essentials. 

I  have  finished. 

But  I  would  not  say  good-by  to  those  Germans 
who  have  followed  my  course  in  this  narrative  with- 
out expressing  to  them  the  wishes  that  fill  my  heart 
for  them,  for  us  all,  for  our  sacred  Fatherland  which 
gave  us  birth  and  which,  whether  it  flourish  or 
whether  it  fade  is  the  source  from  which  our  life's 
blood  issues. 

What,  in  our  great  depression  and  misery  we 
most  of  all  need,  in  order  to  regain  our  old  position, 
is  internal  unity  founded  upon  self-sacrificing  love 
of  the  Fatherland,  coupled  with  national  conscious- 
ness and  national  dignity. 

Away  with  the  acrimonious  cries  which  tend  to 
perpetuate  internal  strife  and  prevent  the  return  of 
peace!  It  cannot  be  our  aim  continually  to  re- 
proach one  another  with  having  broken  the  pitcher. 
In  some  way  we  were  all  of  us  sinners;  and  what  we 
need  is  a  new  vessel  instead  of  the  shards  of  the 
old  one. 

Let  every  one  who  may  be  called  to  share  in  de- 
termining the  destiny  of  the  German  people  to-day 
feel  the  full  weight  of  the  responsibilities  intrusted 
to  him !  May  that  much-abused  and  often  miscon- 
strued saying  "Room  for  the  competent!"  at  length 
be  turned  to  deeds !    Let  us  have  only  the  best  men 


364    MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE 

at  the  helm !  Let  the  most  tested  experts,  the  most 
capable,  the  stoutest  come  to  the  front!  It  is  not 
a  question  of  whether  they  come  from  the  right  or 
from  the  left,  whether  they  have  or  have  not  a  past, 
whether  they  are  republicans  or  monarchists,  em- 
ployers or  workmen.  Christians  or  Jews;  all  that 
should  be  asked  is  whether  they  are  honest  men  in- 
spired with  German  feelings  and  prepared  to  work 
for  the  reconstruction  of  their  country  with  all 
their  might  and  all  their  combined  vigor — united 
at  home  and  strong  towards  the  world  without. 

Fettered  by  the  chains  which  the  impossible  and 
criminal  Treaty  of  Versailles  has  forced  upon  our 
powerlessness,  Germany  has  lain  prostrate  and  help- 
less for  three  years.  She  is  helpless  because  she 
squanders  her  strength  in  internal  feuds,  because  a 
large  proportion  of  her  people  continue  to  listen  to  the 
"Pied-Piper"  melodies  of  those  rogues  or  madmen 
who  sing  them  the  alluring  lay  of  universal  brother- 
hood in  the  paradise  of  internationalism.  How  long 
is  it  to  last,  how  long?  Open  your  eyes  and  look 
around  you;  and  you  will  see  that  this  world  by  which 
you  are  encompassed  is  one  homogeneous  proof  that 
nowhere  is  a  hand  held  out  to  help  you  and  that 
only  he  who  helps  himself  finds  recognition.  Above 
all,  be  Germans,  and  take  your  stand  firmly  on  the 
ground  of  practical  politics  in  this  so  eminently  prac- 
tical world,  reserving  your  romanticism  for  better 
days  in  which  it  will  be  less  fatal  to  the  whole  fabric. 


EXILED  TO  HOLLAND  365 

Believe  me,  a  German  people  which  buries  its 
party  quarrels,  which  liberates  itself  from  the  miser- 
able materialism  of  these  recent  years  and  which, 
united  in  its  love  for  our  impoverished  and  yet  so 
gloriously  beautiful  Fatherland,  struggles  for  freedom 
with  an  indomitable  will, — such  a  German  people 
can  shake  off  its  shackles  and  burst  its  manacles. 

But  you  must  display  sternness,  and  you  must 
wrestle  with  that  fervor  which  knows  only  the  one 
ardent  longing  and  cries:  "I  will  not  let  thee  go, 
except  thou  bless  me." 

I  do  not  summon  to  revenge  or  to  arms  or  to  vio- 
lence. I  call  upon  the  spirit  of  Germany;  let  that 
be  strengthened;  for  the  mind  makes  the  deed  and 
the  destiny — and  senseless  is  the  tool  without  the 
master. — ^Possibly  this  saying  is  the  key  to  that 
destiny  through  which  we  have  been  passing  for  a 
generation,  and  also  to  that  which  lies  ahead  and 
into  which  we  may  enter  as  victors  over  all  our 
opponents  if  we  do  but  bind  together  all  the  best 
of  our  energies  into  a  potent  whole. 


INDEX 


Abdul  Hamid,  Sultan,  47  ff. ;  enter- 
tains German  Princes,  48  ff.;  his 
learning,  50;  entertained  by 
Crown  Prince,  50  ff. 

Agadir,  113,  115 

Ailette,  261 

Aisne,  168,  261,  265,  270 

Alexandra,  Empress  of  Russia,  char- 
acter of,  66,  68 

Alexis  Nicholaievitch,  Tsarovitch, 
70 

Alsace-Lorraine  question,  uncer- 
tain German  attitude,  no;  policy 
in,  132  ff. ;  plan  to  relinquish,  224 

Americans,  combat  with,  250  ff. 

Amerongen,  127,  152 

Anastasia  Michailovna,  Dowager 
Grand  Duchess  of  Mecklenburg, 
mother  of  Crown  Princess,  61 

Anker,  Captain,  330 

Anschiitz,  46 

Antwerp-Meuse  line,  237,  239,  275 

Apremont,  206 

Ardennes,  238;  Rochefort  Chateau, 

344 

Argentinians,  friendly  to  Germany, 
81 

Argonne,  203,  204,  206,  217,  249 
ff.,  261 

Armament,  German,  95  ff. 

Armies,  peace  strength  of,  138 

Armistice,  rumored,  268;  events 
prior  to,  285  ff. 

Artillery,  German  and  French 
methods  compared,  65 

Augusta  Victoria,  Kaiserin,  moth- 
erly kindness  and  sympathy,  4 
ff.,  58,  282  ff.;  confidence  of 
Crown  Prince  in,  4  ff.,  282  ff.; 


visited  in  exile  by  Crown  Prince, 
42;  agitation  over  Wortley  inci- 
dent, 99;  illness,  107,  127,  184, 
209,  280;  death,  281;  life  as  pic- 
tured by  Crown  Prince,  281  ff. 

Austria-Hungary,  German  allies,- 
85 ;  asked  by  Germany  to  arm,  95 ; 
ultimatum,  141 ;  weakness  of, 
224.     See  also  Vienna 

Auxiliary  Service  Act,  1 82 

Avesnes,  250,  262 

Baacke,  Herr,  341 

Balance  of  power,  naval,  76 

Balkan  defeats,  249  ff. 

Ballin,  161  ff. 

Bapaume,  37 

Bassenheim,  Count,  helps  Crown 
Prince,  26 

Bauluy,  206 

Beauzee,  203 

Beck,  Major,  visits  exiled  Crown 
Prince,  107 

Behr,  Adjutant  and  lord,  54 

Belgium,  German  position  in,  238 

Bentinck,  Count,  152 

Berg,  von.  His  Excellency,  10,  151, 
252,  267 

Berge,  von.  Colonel,  293 

Berlin,  childhood  home,  3;  Schloss- 
kapelle,  35;  Crown  Princess  re- 
ceived in,  61;  collapse  of  Kaiser 
in,  113;  populace  changed  in  1917 
in,  243  ff.;  despatches  to  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  263,  266;  uprisings 
in.     See  Revolution 

Bethel,  265 

Bethmann  Hollweg,  Theobald  von, 
hopes  for  neutrality  of  England, 


367 


368 


INDEX 


78,  86;  naval  plans,  79;  handi- 
capped by  Kaiser,  87;  retired,  89; 
against  armament,  96;  govern- 
ment under,  109  flf. ;  character  and 
limitations,  iii  ff.,  116,  i6r,  180; 
lectures  Crown  Prince,  114;  last 
peace  conflict  with  Crown  Prince, 
141  ff.;  opinions  of  English  atti- 
tude, 144  ff.;  war  attitude,  180  ff.; 
afraid  of  Reichstag,  225 

Betzold,  46 

Bismarck,  Prince,  kindness  to  the 
young  Crown  Prince,  7;  birthday 
visit  of  Crown  Prince  and  Kaiser 
to,  29  ff.;  attitude  towards  Eng- 
land, 83  ff.;  retirement,  85;  might 
of,  8"/  ff. ;  Buchholz's  speech  on, 
142;  guarded  German  realm,  223 

Bock,  von.  Major,  276 

Boehn,  von,  Lieutenant-General, 
262 

Boer  War,  84,  85 

Bolshevists,  319 

Bonn  University,  44  ff.,  54,  151 

Boris,  Crown  Prince  of  Bulgaria, 
223,  250,  262 

Borussia  (Prussian)  Corps,  45 

Bove  Ridge,  220 

Boyhood  of  Crown  Prince.  See 
Education  of  Crown  Prince 

Brandenburg,  Prussian  state,  64 

Brandis,  von.  Captain,  213 

Bruges,  surrender  of,  270 

Brunhilde  position,  265 

Brunswick,  Duke  of,  283 

Brussilov,  166 

Bulgaria,  possible  alliance  with,  145; 
collapse  of,  249  ff. 

Biilow,  von.  Prince,  pardoned  by 
Kaiser,  22;  attitude  towards  Eng- 
land, 83,  84,  86;  handicapped  by 
Kaiser,  87  ff.;  talents  of,  87  ff.; 
reappointment  as  chancellor,  89; 
Wortley  conflict  of  November, 
1908,  96  ff. 

Cadet  School  at  Plon,  attended  by 
Princes,  31  ff. 


Cannae,  Battle  of,  195 

Carol,  King  of  Roumania,  116 

Cecilia,  Duchess  of  Mecklenburg, 
Crown  Princess  of  Germany,  be- 
trothal in  1904,  61;  marriage  in 
1905,  61 ;  character  of,  62;  as  wife 
and  mother,  62  ff.,  107  ff.,  126 

Censorship,  232 

Ceremonies.    See  Court,  German 

Chamberlain,  Joseph,  attempts  al- 
liance between  Germany,  Eng- 
land, and  the  United  States,  84 

Champagne,  168,  217,  251,  261 

Charleville,  headquarters  of  Moltke, 
208,  248;  Czernin  visits  Crown 
Prince  at,  224 

Charlottenburg,  University  of  Tech- 
nology in,  71 

Chef  de  Cabinet,  power  as  Kaiser's 
intermediary,  8  ff. 

Chemin  des  Dames,  220  ff.,  251,  261 

Clemen,  46 

Clemenceau,  182 

Conde,  front,  264 

Constantinople,  visited  by  Crown 
Prince,  48 

Courcelles-Souilly,  203 

Court,  German,  ceremonies  and 
festivities,  54  ff. 

Czernin,  Count  Ottokar,  224  ff. 

Daily  Telegraph,  Wortley  incident, 

97.113 
Danzig,  life  of  Crown  Prince  in,  129, 

134 
Dardanelles  question,  85 
David,  Majority  Socialist,  226  ff. 
Death's  Head  Hussars,  129  ff. 
Defeat,     German,      Chapter     VI; 

causes  of,  237   ff.,   241   ff.;    not 

caused  by  force  of  arms,  345 
Defense  Bill  of  1913,  96 
Deimling,  von.  General,  133 
de  Jonghe,  Count,  276 
Demoralization   of  Germany.     See 

Defeat 
Den  Oever,  25,  221 
"Deutschland  in  Waffen,"  131 


INDEX 


369 


Dinant,  276 

Divorce,  rumor  of  Crown  Prince's, 

62 
Dohna,  Count,  319 
DoHna,  Count,  adjutant,  129 
Dommes,  von,  Colonel,  205 
Douaumont,  Fort,  212  ff, 

Eberhardt,  von.  General,  344 

Ebert,  Imperial  Chancellor,  302,  317 

Education  of  Crown  Prince,  in- 
trusted to  tutors,  7;  intermedi- 
aries, 8,  II  ff. ;  typical  training  of 
Prussian  Princes,  27  ff.,  35; 
amended  by  Crown  Prince,  28  ff.; 
military  governors,  28  ff.,  31  ff. ; 
physical  training,  29;  scientific 
education,  31;  at  Plon,  31  ff.; 
military  appointments,  35  ff.,  129; 
lieutenancy,  37;  at  Bonn  Univer- 
sity, 44  ff.;  travel,  47;  commands, 
51  ff.,  129;  moral  teachings,  59; 
at  University  of  Technology,  71 ; 
political  and  economic  studies, 
71  ff.     See  also  Military  Record 

Edward  VII,  King  of  England,  in- 
structs Crown  Prince  in  British 
politics,  73  ff. ;  opinion  on  Ger- 
man-English economic  rivalry, 
82  ff.,  94;  falsely  accused  of  hating 
Germany,  89  ff.;  character  and 
interests  of,  90  ff. 

Einem,  von,  331  ff.,  343 

Eitel  Frederick,  Prince,  as  a  youth, 
6,  7,  31,  47,  48;  visits  Crown 
Prince  in  exile,  184;  command  in 
war,  207;  combat  against  Ameri- 
cans, 250 

England,  politics  of,  studied  by 
Crown  Prince,  73  ff. ;  von  Tirpitz's 
opinion  of  naval  rivalry  of,  75  ff.; 
motives  in  Great  War,  77  ff.,  117; 
threatened  by  German  merchant 
influence,  81  ff.;  blockade  against 
Germany,  no;  administrative 
talent  of,  120;  army  of,  137;  at 
war,  165  ff.,  passim 

Enmity  towards  Germany,  81  ff. 


Enver  Pasha,  223 

Erzberger,  167 

Estrogul  Dragoons,  48 

Eulenburg,  Prince  Philip,  14  ff. 

Exiled  life  of  Crown  Prince,  25  ff.; 
peasants'  distrust,  25;  discom- 
forts, 25,  154  ff.,  222  ff.;  friendli- 
ness of  neighbors,  26,  362;  birth- 
day, 41;  visit  to  Kaiserin,  42;  as 
a  smith,  60;  value  of  secluded 
life,  loi  ff.;  loneliness,  102,  126; 
news  of  peace  treaty,  102;  visitors 
in  1919,  107  ff.;  news  of  Kaiserin's 
illness,  107,  127,  184;  wife's  and 
children's  visit,  107  ff.,  126;  news 
of  Kaiser,  127;  work  and  friends, 
149  ff.;  Christmas,  151  ff.;  extra- 
dition, 153;  visits  to  Doom,  184, 
209,  234,  281;  visit  to  Overveen, 
197;  sister  visits  Crown  Prince, 
222;  New  Year's  Eve  party,  1920, 
232;  visits  parents,  January,  1921, 
234;  April,  280  ff.;  death  and 
funeral  of  Kaiserin,  281;  arrival 
in  exile,  354  ff. ;  renunciation,  359 

Falkenhayn,  von.  General,  28,  187, 

210  ff.,  215,  348 
Far  East,  travels  of  Crown  Prince  in, 

119  ff. 
Fashoda  affront,  86,  93 
Federal  Princes,  223 
Finckenstein,  Count,  friend  of 

Crown  Prince,  37 
Fischbeck,  226 
Fisher,  Admiral,  Lord,  quoted,  77, 

Flanders,  Planitz  dies  in,  65 
Foch,  war  aims  and  methods,  267  ff. ; 

demands  of,  271  ff. 
Foreign  policy  of  Germany,  80  ff., 

172 
Forstner,  von.  Lieutenant,  133 
France,   37;   artillery   methods  of, 

65;    enters    entente   cordiale,    93; 

army  maintained  by,  95,  137  ff. 

See  also  War 
Francis  Ferdinand,  Archduke,  95; 


370 


INDEX 


opinions  of  Serbian  propaganda, 
123;    influence   of,   124;    assassi- 
nated, 140 
Franco-Russian  Alliance,  85 
Frederick  Charles,  Prince  of  Prussia, 

135 

Frederick  the  Great,  108,  174  ff. 

Frederick  William  I,  51 

Fredericks,  Baron,  67 

Friedrichsruh,  29 

Frobenius,  D.  H.,  The  German  Em- 
pire's Hour  of  Destiny,  141  ff. 

Galicia,  224 

Gallwitz,  265,  267 

Garter,  Order  of  the,  given  to  Crown 
Prince,  91 

Gelbensande,  61 

George  V,  King  of  England,  corona- 
tion, 122 

Gercourt,  206 

Giesl,  Austrian  minister,  125 

Givet,  276 

Go-betweens,  Kaiser's  system  of, 
8ff. 

Goethe,  80 

Gontard,  von,  General,  285,  321 

Gorlice,  162,  251 

Goschen,  Sir  Edward,  116,  146 

Gothein,  46 

"Government  of  National  De- 
fense," 255 

Grandpr6,  265 

Grenadier  Guards  (British),  43 

Grey,  Sir  Edward,  117,  123,  143 

Groner,  General,  99,  275,  329;  ac- 
tivities during  Spa  conference  and 
abdication  plans,  286  ff.,  passim 

Grote,  Baron,  349 

Griinau,  von,  286,  294,  306 

Gudrun-Brunhilde  position,  266, 
271 

Guendell,  von,  General,  265 

Guise,  279 

Hagen  attack,  237 
Halberstadt       Cuirassiers,       com- 
manded by  Bismarck,  30 


Haldane,  Lord,  British  Minister  of 
War,  117,  118 

Hardinge,  Lord,  119 

Haumont,  Forest  of,  265 

Havitt,  Sir  John,  119 

Hedin,  Sven,  224 

Heine,  Heinrich,  quoted,  102 

Henry,  Prince,  143  flf.,  209 

Hentsch,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  202 
ff.,  passion 

Hermann  position,  271 

Hertling,  von.  Count,  Imperial 
Chancellor,  254,  256 

Heydebrand,  von,  226  ff. 

Heye,  Colonel,  296,  307,  309  ff. 

Hillenraadt  Castle,  352 

Hindenburg,  von,  Field-Marshal, 
greatness,  185  ff.;  character,  187; 
burden  of  war,  187  ff.;  withdraws 
Verdun  attack,  215;  efforts  at 
mediation  through  neutral  pow- 
ers, 253;  supreme  commander, 
306,  311,  328;  at  disposal  of  new 
Government,  330;  Crown  Prince's 
farewell  letter  to,  336  ff . 

Hintze,  von.  His  Excellency  Mar- 
shal, 259  ff.,  286,  293  ff.,  298  ff., 
passim,  340  ff. 

Hippolytushoef,  25,  127 

Hirschfeld,  von.  Major,  294,  321 

Hirson  Junction,  247 

Holland,  Kaiser  plans  to  retire  to, 
318  ff.  See  also  Exiled  Life  of 
Crown  Prince 

Home  policy  of  Germany,  narrow- 
ness of,  108  ff. 

Hopfgarten,  Major  the  Count, 
mentor  to  Crown  Prince,  65 

Hubertsburg,  Peace  of,  175 

Huenefeld,  Baron,  helps  the  Crown 
Prince,  26 

Hulsen,  von,  His  Excellency,  64 

Hunding  position,  266 

Hiinefeld,  von.  Baron,  349 

Ilsemann,  von,  107,  321 
India,  Crown  Prince  in,  119 
"  International,"  244 


INDEX 


371 


Italy,  arms  against  Austria,  95;  en- 
trance into  war,  162;  plan  to  cede 
Trentino  to,  224 

Jagow,  Secretary  of  State,  114,  116 
Jellicoe,  Admiral,  quoted,  79  ff. 
Jena,  defeat  at,  195 
Jena,   Edward   von,   General,   210, 

333_ 
Joachim,  Prince,  death  of,  184,  209 
Joffre,  General,  213 
Jutland,  Battle  of,  75 

Kampf,  226 

Kan,  Secretary-General,  151 

Kapp  putsch,  154,  156  fif. 

Karl,  Kaiser,  224 

Kiderlen-Wachter,  112,  114;  praised 
by  Bethmann,  115;  character  and 
limitations  of,  115  fT. 

Kiel,  Kaiser  arrives  at,  143 

Klewitz,  von,  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
332 

Knobelsdorf,  Schmidt  von,  Lieu- 
tenant-General, 136,  214 

Koenigsmarck,  Graf,  14 

KolflF,  Burgomaster,  198 

Konig,  Captain,  151 

Konigsplatz,  military  academy  at, 
192 

Kretizzeitung,  73 

Kriiger  telegram,  85 

Kuhl,  von,  His  Excellency,  262 

Kiihlmann,  259 

Kummer,  60  fif. 

Kurt,  Major,  151 

La  Capelle,  279 
Langfuhr,  129,  134 
Laroche,  331 
Leo  XIII,  Pope,  47  fT. 
Lichnowsky,  Prince,  118 
Lille,  fall  of,  267 
Litzmann,  46 

Lloyd  George,  David,  113,  182 
Lodz,  victory  at,  190 
London,  influence  of  Kaiser  in,  21; 
death  of  the  Queen  brings  Hohen- 


zollerns  to,  43  fif.;  coronation  in, 
126 

Longwy,  Battle  of,  201 

Louis  of  Battenberg,  Prince,  44 

Louppy  le  Petit,  203 

Ludendorfif,  General,  accused,  158 
ff.;  character,  159,  187,  189  ff., 
192  ff. ;  complaints  in  memoirs, 
181;  greatness,  185;  retirement, 
188;  genius  of,  189,  193  ff.;  suffer- 
ing of,  192;  objects  to  possible 
concession  of  territories,  225;  dis- 
cusses American  advance  with 
Kaiser,  251  ff.;  resignation,  273 

Luijt,  60 

Luxembourg,  Headquarters  in,  201 

Lyncker,  von,  General,  31  ff.,  128 

Lyncker,  Frau  von,  32 

Maastricht,  349 

Macedonian  front,  249 

Maharajah  of  Dschaipur,  119 

Majority  parties,  power  of,  255 

Malmoff,  Bulgarian  Prime  Minister, 
249 

Maltzahn,  184  ff. 

Mangin,  General,  213 

Maria  Feodorovna,  Dowager  Em- 
press of  Russia,  character  and  in- 
fluence of,  66  ff. ;  opponent  of  Ger- 
many, 70 

Marne,  Battle  of  the,  160,  198,  199, 
206;  not  a  German  defeat,  207, 
210;  false  tactics  begun  at,  231 

Marschall,  von,  General,  115,  294, 
304  ff.,  311 

Mary,  Queen  of  England,  corona- 
tion, 122 

Masurian  Lakes,  victory  at,  190 

Max,  Prince  of  Baden,  256,  260; 
274;  appointed  chancellor,  261; 
rumor  of  regency  of,  271;  urges 
Kaiser's  abdication,  293;  author 
of  abdication  proclamation,  303 

Mecklenburg.  See  Cecilie  and  Ana- 
stasia  Michailovna  of 

Menzel,  Adolf,  at  court  festivities, 
55  ff. 


372 


INDEX 


Metternich,  115,  352 

Meuse,  211,  238,  249,  254,  261,  276, 
279 

Michaelis,  Herr  Dr.,  166  fT. 

Military  Record  of  Crown  Prince, 
lieutenancy,  37;  First  Foot 
Guards,  51  ff.;  Gardes  du  Corps, 
64;  artillery,  65;  First  Body  Hus- 
sars, 129;  General  StaflF,  136  S.; 
leader  of  Fifth  Army,  148,  199 

Military  resources  of  Germany, 
See  Armament 

Mitzlaff,  von,  37  ff. 

Mobilization  for  war,  143 

Moltke,  von,  Lieutenant-General, 
tragic  figure,  200  ff.,  204  flf.,  208 

Mons,  262 

Mont,  115 

Montfaucon,  206 

Montfaucon-Bauthville  road,  261 

Morocco  affair,  112 

Miildner,  Crown  Prince's  compan- 
ion in  exile,  108,  150,  152,  209, 
221,  232,  330,  339  flf.,  346 

Miiller,  Adjutant,  143,  151,  274, 
330,  339  ff-,  346 

Miiller,  von,  78 

Muller,  Hermann,  226 

Namur,  344 

Naumann,  Dr.  Victor,  168  ff. 

Navy,  German,  74,  78  fT.  See  also 
Tirpitz;  factor  in  defeat,  80 

Nicholai  Nicholaievitch,  Grand 
Duke,  67;  opponent  of  Germany, 
70,  125,  162 

Nicholas,  Tsar  of  Russia,  report  of 
murder  of,  66;  Crown  Prince's 
visit  to,  66  flf.;  character  of,  66  flf., 
70;  bodyguard  of,  68  flf.;  secret 
sympathy  for  Germany,  69,  125; 
alienated  from  Germany  by  Ed- 
ward vn,  93 

Niemann,  Major,  285  flf. 

Nisam  of  Hyderabad,  119 

Oldenburg,  von,  defends  Kaiser  in 
Wortley  conflict,  98 


Oldenburg- Januschau,  226 
Oosterland,  25 
Osborne  Castle,  91 
Ostend,  surrender  of,  270 
Overveen,  197 

Pannwitz,  von,  359 

Paris  press,  refusal  of  peace  oflfer, 
265 

Peace  Treaty.  See  Treaty  of  Ver- 
sailles 

Peereboom,  Burgomaster,  26,  127, 

197,  358 

Persia,  93 

"Philosopher  of  Hohensinow,"  iii 

Planitz,  von  der,  Captain,  personal 
adjutant  to  Crown  Prince,  65 

Plessen,  von,  11,  286,  294,  299, 
304  flf.,  310  flf. 

Plettenberg,  von.  Colonel,  first 
commander  of  the  Crown  Prince, 
36 

Plon,  cadet  school  attended  by 
Princes,  31  flF. 

Pliiskow,  von,  Major,  36 

Pohl,  Admiral,  79 

Poland,  question  of,  uncertain  Ger- 
man attitude,  no;  Kingdom  of, 
166, 224 

Political  and  economic  interests  of 
the  Crown  Prince,  71 

Potsdam,  childhood  home,  3;  rides 
in,  29;  civil  appointments  of 
Crown  Prince  in,  71;  Kaiser's  ill- 
ness at,  98;  Crown  Prince's 
Cicilienhof  in,  126;  events  in, 
prior  to  war,  143  flf. 

Prell,  editor  of  the  Niederldndische 
Wochenschrift,  150 

Press,  Crown  Prince's  interest  in 
the,  72  flF. 

Prittwitz,  von,  341 

Programmes  of  war  outlined  by 
Crown  Prince,  168  flf.,  176  flf. 

Rantzau,  Count,  36 
Regency  of  Crown  Prince,  tempo- 
rary, 100,  103  flf. 


INDEX 


373 


Reichslanden.    See  Alsace-Lorraine 

Reichstag,  stormy  sittings  of,  22; 
rage  over  Wortley  incident,  97; 
Crown  Prince  outspoken  in  191 1 
in,  112  flf.;  for  armament,  139; 
Erzberger  action  in,  167;  attack 
upon  Hertling  in,  254 

Rembercourt,  203 

Reuter,  von.  General,  133 

Revolution  in  Germany,  295  flf., 
309.  317.  322,  324 

Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  213 

Rheims,  36,  38;  offensive,  237,  254; 
yields,  249,  264 

Rodern,  Count,  256 

Roos-Keppel,  Sir,  119 

Rostock,  150 

Roumania,  115  ff.;  foreign  influ- 
ences in,  1 16 

Rouvier  Cabinet,  85  ff. 

Rupprecht,  Prince,  237,  267,  270 

Russia,  37;  Crown  Prince's  visits 
to,  66  ff.,  125;  possible  alliance 
with,  77,  85,  86;  arms  for  war,  95; 
army  of,  137;  movements  of 
troops,  139  ff.;  at  war,  162  ff.; 
German  peace  with,  175 

Russo-German  treaty  of  commerce, 
67 

St.  Andr^,  203 

St.  Germainmont,  265 

St.  Menehould,  205 

St.  Petersburg,  influence  of  Kaiser 
in,  21;  visit  of  Crown  Prince  to, 
66  ff. 

Salisbury,  Lord,  British  Prime 
Minister,  83 

Sarrail,  206 

Schaefer,  dentist,  197 

Scheer,  Admiral,  318 

Schenck,  General,  265 

Scheuch,  Minister  General,  335,  341 

Schiller,  William  Tell,  quoted,  134 

Schlieffen,  plans  checked  at  the 
Marne,  160;  feared  by  subordi- 
nates, 201 

Schmettow,  von,  331 


Schonhausen,   von,   dyke   captain, 

258 

Schroder,  349,  352 

Schulenburg,  von  der.  Count,  237, 
328;  activities  during  Spa  con- 
ference and  abdication  plans,  285 
ff.,  passim,  339  ff. 

Schulze-Bromberg,  226 

Schumacher,  46 

Sedan, 238 

Seraincourt,  272  ff. 

Serbia,  123  ff.,  147 

Sivry,  265 

Socialist  Act,  236 

Socialists,  317 

Somme,  river,  215,  251 

Somme-Py,  261 

Sonville,  213 

Spa,  99,  113;  General  Headquarters, 
188;  plans  at,  before  defeat,  251 
ff.,  258;  scenes  at,  before  sur- 
render, 285  ff. 

Spandau,  Fortress  of,  235 

Spaniards,  friendly  to  Germany,  8 1 

Spender,  Harold,  English  journal- 
ist, 96  ff. 

Stein,  von.  War  Minister,  265 

Stenay,  Crown   Princess  visits  at, 

63 
Steuben,  333 
Stuart,  Sir  Harold,  119 
Stuermer,  163,  166 
Stiilpnagel,  adjutant  and  lord,  54 
Suffrage  Act,  254 
Suippes,  264 

Swedes,  friendly  to  Germany,  81 
Switzerland,  intermediary  to  United 

States,  263 

Talleyrand,  19 

Tannenberg,  victory  at,  190 

Tappen,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  201 
ff.,  204 

Tarnopol,  166 

Tavannes,  213 

Tirpitz,  von,  Grand-Admiral,  char- 
acter and  activities  of,  74  ff.,  79; 
opinions  on  struggle  with  Eng- 


374 


INDEX 


land,  75  ff.,  117;  denied  free  naval 
power  in  Great  War,  78;  under- 
stands economic  difficulty,    no 

Tisza,  Count,  224 

Tongern,  347 

Tournay,  surrender  of,  270 

Travels  of  the  Crown  Prince,  118 
ff.,  121 

Treaty  of  Versailles,  signed,  102; 
humiliation  of  Germany  by,  103, 

364 

Trentino,  plan  to  relinquish,  224 

Trimborn,  226 

Triple  Alliance,  94 

Triple  Entente,  94;  war  prepara- 
tions of,  95 

Tripoli,  95 

Turkey,  friendly  to  Germany,  81; 
possible  alliance  with,  145 

Valentini,  von.  His  Excellency, 
166,  183 

Varennes,  202,  204 

Vavincourt,  203 

Verdun,  203,  206,  238,  240;  Crown 
Prince  not  answerable  for  losses 
at,  210  ff.,  213  ff. 

Versailles  Treaty.  See  Treaty  of 
Versailles 

Victoria,  Queen,  visited  by  the 
Kaiser  and  his  family  at  her  ju- 
bilee, 34;  death  and  funeral  of, 

43  ff. 
Vielsalm,  headquarters  at,  305,  322, 

329,  333,  339 

Vienna,  123;  Near  East  policy  de- 
pendent upon  Ballplatz,  123;  de- 
mands upon  Serbia,  124  ff. 

Villers-Cotterets,  Forest  of,  191,  237 

Vortrage,  9 

Vorwarts,  73 

Vosges,  238 

Vouziers,  265,  270 

Vroenhoven,  347  ff. 

Wagenheim,  115 

Wahnschaffe,  von,  His  Excellency, 
300 


War,  Great,  England's  motives  in, 

77  ff . ;  a  German  naval  blunder  in, 

78  ff.;  gathering  storm  of,  120  ff.; 
mobilization,  143;  events  prior  to, 
144  ff.;  details  of,  156  ff.,  to  end; 
Crown  Prince's  programmes  of, 
168  ff.,  176  ff. 

Wartenburg,  York  von.  Count, 
Weltgeschichte  in  Umrissen,  195 

Waulsort,  headquarters  shifted  to, 
276 

Wedel,  von,  37,  56  ff. 

Wergin,  Sergeant-Major,  52 

Widemann,  Oberstabsarzt,  51 

Wieringen,  Isle  of,  appointed  place 
of  Crown  Prince's  exile,  354  ff. 

Wight,  Isle  of,  Victoria  dies  in,  43; 
Wortley  in,  96 

Wilhelm  II,  Kaiser,  relations  with 
children,  5  ff.,  16;  restraints  im- 
posed on  children,  6,  11;  go- 
betweens,  8  ff.,  14,  105  ff.;  private 
interviews  with  Crown  Prince, 
12  ff.,  113;  compared  with  son, 
16  ff. ;  respected  by  Crown  Prince, 
18;  nobility  of  character,  19; 
characteristics,  19  ff . ;  weakness  of, 
20  ff.,  104  ff.;  conception  of  loy- 
alty, 22  ff.;  relaxing  hold  on  af- 
fairs, 23;  desire  for  peace,  24,  125; 
birthday  visit  to  Bismarck,  29  ff . ; 
ceremonies  at  court  of,  55  ff., 
104  ff.;  press  cuttings  and  reports 
presented  to,  73  ff.,  106;  attitude 
towards  England,  87  ff.,  97;  re- 
appoints Biilow,  89;  prejudice 
against  Edward  VII,  89  ff.; 
Wortley  conflict  of  November, 
1908,  96  ff.;  breakdown,  100; 
grants  cessation  of  Verdun  at- 
tack, 214;  early  service  to  the 
empire,  235  ff . ;  agrees  to  majority- 
party  proposals,  255  ff.;  urging 
and  rumors  of  abdication,  270, 
291,  295;  at  Spa  conference,  be- 
fore surrender,  286  ff.;  agrees  to 
abdicate,  298  ff.,  359;  unjustly 
blamed,  325  ff. 


^ 


JfD-  89. 


INDEX 


375 


Wilson,  Woodrow,  Berlin  despatch 
to,  263,  265;  conditions  of,  ac- 
cepted  by  Germany,   266,   271; 
fourteen   points,   267   ff.;   notes, 
268  flf. 
Witte,  Sergei  Julivitch,  67 
Wittlesbach,  House  of,  271 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Councils, 

295 
Wortley,  General  Stuart,  96  flf. 
Wrangel,  Baron,  42 

X,  Captain,  308,  310  R.,  315 


Y,  Lieutenant,  308,  311,  315 
Ypres,  250 

Zabern  incident,  132 

Zarskoe  Selo,  68 

Zitelmann,  46 

Zobeltitz,  friend  of  Crown  Prince, 

232,  276  flf.,  330,  346,  350  ff. 
Zoppot,  Crown  Prince  at,  140 
Zorn,  lecturer  on  constitutional  law, 

46 
Zorndorf,  64 


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